North West records £1.03bn of industrial property transactions in 2024

Key investment market highlights:

• Transaction volume: The North West saw £1.03bn of industrial transactions in 2024 across 63 deals, broadly in line with the five-year average (£1,08bn).
• Investor demand: The North West industrial sector maintained its position as one of the most attractive property sectors in 2024, driven by robust rental growth and strong investor demand, despite some hesitancy due to interest rate uncertainty and the political environment.
• Market trends: The industrial open storage market emerged as a key sub-sector, and overseas investment dominated the institutional market. Despite challenges, investor demand strengthened, particularly for prime assets, leading to notable acquisitions such as Premier Park and Broadheath Network Centre. Traditional UK investors began returning cautiously, focusing on top-tier assets with strong ESG credentials. In the North West, institutional buyers such as ICG, Indurent and Mileway were active throughout the year, highlighting a continued focus on value-add opportunities.
• Pricing trends: Industrial property sector pricing in 2024 was heavily influenced by interest rates and the cost of debt, with slight decreases in rates not alleviating high swap rates.

In 2024, the North West industrial occupational market saw Big Box take up of 3.22m sq. ft. – an 18% increase from 2023, though still someway short of peak 6m sq. ft. peak that was recorded in 2021/22.

Of the total square footage acquired in 2024, 2.32m sq. ft. (72%) was either speculative new-build or Grade A – double the previous year’s figures.

Key occupational market highlights

• Occupational market: The H1 2024 take-up of big box units (more than 90,000 sq. ft.) totalled 1.28 million sq. ft. across eight transactions, with expectations for improved take-up in H2 2024. Year-end take up figures predicted to be broadly in line with pre-Covid years, 2019/2020 (circa 3 – 4 million sq.ft.).
  Rental growth: Prime Big Box rents were between £9.50 and £10.00 per sq. ft. with a new record rent of £11.50 per sq. ft. achieved at year-end. Overall, quoting rents have increased to over £11.00 per sq. ft.
• Multi-let Industrial (MLI) demand: MLI demand remains very strong, with new-build take up totalling 812,000 sq. ft., marginally below the five-year average. A total of 70% of new-build MLI transactions were below 15,000 sq. ft. for another consecutive year. Plus, increased void on second-hand MLI assets has promoted rental or growth through refurbishment programmes.
• A look ahead: Big Box units comprising 2.68m sq. ft. in total are currently under construction across 11 schemes, mostly outside of the prime areas of Greater Manchester and central M6 corridor.