Take up in the first half of 2024 is down by 56% across the South East industrial market, according to SHW’s Q3 2024 Industrial Focus, however the outlook for the next 12 to 18 months is more positive with the political and economic climate now becoming more certain, and 3.5 million sq ft of lease events scheduled across the region, recorded on SHW’s exclusive database.
Tim Hardwicke, SHW’s Partner and Head of Agency, comments: “The first six months of the year have shown overall take up is down, compared with H2 2023. Although the second half of the year usually records a higher level of take up, this significant decrease is reflective of the uncertainty in the market – economically and politically – which has delayed many occupiers’ decisions on property moves. However, there is a more positive outlook going forward. With a new government now in place and interest rates widely expected to decrease imminently, backed by the large number of lease events due over the next 18 months, we are expecting transactions to increase, bringing take up back to an annual average.”
In the core South London market, take up levels dropped 19%, Mid Sussex showed a drop of 85%, with Crawley & Gatwick down by 79%. There were some exceptions across the region for example with Brighton & Hove take up increasing by 212%.
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