VIDEO | How do we de-risk the industrial sector?

The logistics and industrial sector appears to be slowing down from its former red hot pace. With that in mind, how do we secure the market’s future? That question was the focus of a roundtable discussion hosted by law firm Weightmans.

Participants:

• Emily Armstrong, FI Real Estate Management
• Jonathan Atherton, Savills
• Andrew Bain, Tritax Symmetry
• Joe Burnett, Network Space
• Karl Jackson, Weightmans
• Andrew Pexton, JLL
• Matthew Williamson, Weightmans

Key talking points

While much has been made in the press about the changing market, those at the roundtable cautioned that it’s less that the market has cooled and more than it has normalised. It was argued that one of the biggest risks facing the sector is actually that developers and agents will talk the market into a worse economic position than it actually is.

The need for power was another key topic, with developers discussing how securing electricity for sites has become a persistent problem. Part of the solution could be gathering more information from future tenants about how much power is actually required.

Other ways to de-risk the market included an increase in land availability, more funds for planning departments, and investment in infrastructure. The role of smaller sheds was also discussed, with ideas pitched about how to ensure their survival when many developers just want to focus on larger scale projects.

The discussion was hosted by Place North West editor Julia Hatmaker, and held at Weightmans’ office in Manchester. Highlights from the roundtable can be seen in the video at the top of this article, as well as on the Place North West YouTube channel.