DORSET is “crying out” for more industrial stock to meet demand of the UK’s booming online economy, according to a Bournemouth property consultancy.

The Bournemouth office of Vail Williams has acted on 165,000 sf ft of industrial property transactions since merging with Cowling & West in March 2021.

Vail Williams associate Bryony Solan said: “The prices to acquire premises, and their associated rental yields, have increased in the past 12 months, such is the level of demand for industrial, warehouse and trade counters units.

 

“Industry data shows that major investors regard distribution and logistics as a leading asset class to invest in.

“The UK’s exponential growth in online shopping and same-day delivery and just-in-time fulfilment needs, along with a lack of suitable employment land for similar developments, means Dorset is crying out for more industrial development. In essence, online sales are driving unprecedented warehouse requirements.”

Since the start of the pandemic the industrial market has consistently outperformed other commercial property sectors, both in Dorset and throughout the UK, buoyed by the effects of Brexit on UK supply chains and the pandemic on online retail.

Certain sectors experienced record sales during the pandemic which has increased their industrial requirements to meet consumer demand.

With the connectivity benefits that the A31 trunk road out of the BCP region brings, Dorset has “a lot to offer” manufacturing, distribution, logistics and e-commerce businesses, according to Bryony.

Vail Williams’ latest activity in the industrial sector included the letting of a 40,000 sq ft industrial unit in Poole to cosmetics retailer Lush.

Bryony added: “Interest from owner occupiers and investors in freehold industrial properties has also gone up significantly across the region, as we’ve seen with the recent sale of eight brand new industrial units on the first phase at Hoburne Enterprise Park in Ringwood.

“Regarding the upward trend in pricing, this was the case recently when we sold a 3,820 sq ft industrial investment on the Ferndown Industrial Estate for full quoting price, at just under £500,000, in an off-market deal, achieving a yield of just under 5 per cent.

“Whilst this is all good news for the regional economy, businesses will suffer as a result if the supply of high-quality industrial premises doesn’t increase.”