Industrial & Logistics Autumn 2019 Barometer

Len has more than 30 years' experience in the commercial property sector. Having started out as a trainee surveyor in 1983 he moved on to set up Jansons in 1990, a niche agency specialising in industrial in North and West London. In 2004/5 the business was voted Industrial Agency of the Year, this being the first ever non West End national practice to have won this prestigious award. In that same year the business transacted in excess of 3.5 million sq ft which accounted for in excess of 50% of the total transactions for the North and West London market.

Since joining Colliers International, as the Head of the UK Logistics and Industrial Department, the objectives are the same as always, to outperform all competitors whilst providing the highest level of service to all our clients. In 2018, the Colliers International UK Industrial & Logistics team completed over 250 deals totalling over 15 million sq ft. 

I joined Colliers International UK in Sept 2016 as a Director to head up the Manchester, Industrial & Logistics team, which consists of 4 people coverging the whole of the North West.

I became chartered in Dec 2004 and have of over 17 years experience in the Industrial Agency market and previously worked in the industrial agency teams of Matthews & Goodman,  Knight Frank and Lambert Smith Hampton (Where I was head of department from 2014 - 2016) in their Manchester Offices.

I have over nineteen years experience in all aspects of Agency Surveying with a particular specialism within the Industrial and Logistics field. I work with a range of institutional clients, corporate occupiers and developer/property companies providing strategic property advice, acquisition/disposal and development advice.

I have acted on behalf of both occupiers, landlords and developers on several key regional transactions including:

• Acting on behalf of Lidl, acquired 35 acres at iPort Doncaster for a 685,000 sq. ft. Regional Distribution Centre.
• Acting on behalf of Verdion on the iPort Doncaster scheme, the Yorkshire Regions most high profile and successful development, including leasehold occupier transactions to Amazon (2.1m sq. ft.), Fellowes (142,750 sq. ft.), CEVA (215,900 sq. ft.).
• Occupier acquisition advice to companies including Lidl, Reckitt Benckiser, Dixons Carphone, ASDA, Ocado, Jaguar Land Rover, Magan, Siemens, Superdrug, Selco.
• Development advice on behalf of leading developers such as Verdion, Tritax Symmetry, Peel Group, Network Space, Stoford Developments, Citrus Group and Highgrove Plc.
• Acting on behalf of Aberdeen Standard, successfully let 415,000 sq. ft. at First Point, Doncaster to Amazon.
• Acting on behalf of WP Carey, sold a former printworks complex in Leeds comprising 190,000 sq. ft. facility on a 4.88 acre site to Caddick Developments. Retained by the purchaser, the site was subsequently comprehensively reconfigured and refurbished, resulting in a letting of the whole to Leeds City Council.
• Acting on behalf of Network Space, disposed of a 60 acre logistics development site in Worksop to DHL.
• Acting on behalf of Dixons Carphone, acquired 425,000 sq. ft. at Leeds Bradford Airport Distribution Park.
• Acting on behalf of Sainsbury Plc, disposed of the 400,000 sq. ft. former Argos RDC at Wakefield Europort.
• Acting on behalf of Tritax Symmetry, acquired a 90 acre development site in the North East of England with subsequent pre-let of 1,507,000 sq ft RDC to Amazon on an institutional lease.
• Acting on behalf of Glentrool, pre-sold 50,000 sq. ft. to Cromwell Polythene.
• Acting on behalf of Wilton Developments, let 135,000 sq. ft. at Latitide 135 Wakefield to WH Malcolm and 50,000 sq. ft. at Connex 50 Leeds to FedEx.

Current Position - 2015 onwards - Director - Industrial & Logistics, Colliers International

Previous Positions:

2007 - 2014 - Head of Office & Director Industrial & Logistics North at Lambert Smith Hampton

2001 - 2007 - Senior Surveyor at King Sturge

Patrick has some 21 years' experience throughout the residential and commercial property markets.  Originally starting in the property world in 1988 in the Home Counties, Patrick gained experience in residential sales and marketing continuing to work for numerous multi-national companies until 1997 at which time he joined Jansons & Partners, gaining experience in retail, office and industrial commercial property.

Throughout this time Patrick has come to specialise in acquisition and disposal of industrial & logistic premises and sites throughout the Heathrow and West London market.  He has gained vast experience in specialist advice on site acquisition, long term development and short term income production.

Patrick acts on behalf of many corporate and individual clients within the Heathrow and West London market, offering advice on day to day marketing requirements to longer term opportunities.

Iain has a wealth of experience in the Scottish commercial property market, specialising in Industrial and Logistics real estate. He is in an expert in providing acquisition, disposal, development and general agency advice to a wide range of private and public sector clients ranging from developers, occupiers, institutional investors and private clients. During a career spanning over 20 years, Iain has and continues to be involved in most of  the highest profile industrial property deals in Scotland.

Representative clients and projects include: 

Frasers Property/Oaktree/Patrizia - Appointed in 2015 as Letting agents & development advisors on Scotland's largest and most established business estate, Hillington Park, totalling 2.5m sq ft and benefitting from Scotland’s first and only Simplified Planning Zone.

Canmoor - Leasing and development advice on the 1.6m sq ft Westway Park, Renfrew, Scotland's largest fully enclosed industrial park.

Eurocentral - Advised on various lettings, sales and acquisitions on Scotland's premier distribution park. Brokered deals to a variety of well known organisations, including; NHS, Lidl, DPD, Hermes, Wm Morrison Supermarkets, ACS Clothing, Mentholatum, Nagel Group, SB Components, LumiraDX and DX.

Tritax Symmetry -  550,000 sq ft pre-let to Harper Collins in 2022 at Nova Park, Glasgow; Scotland's largest Industrial pre-let in over a decade.

Prologis - Provision of development and letting agency advice on 1m sq ft prime industrial scheme known as Prologis M8 in Lanarkshire.  504,000 sq ft and 175,000 sq ft pre-lets to the Co-operative and Brakes respectively.

The Co-operative - Successfully secured mandate to dispose of UK wide portfolio of surplus warehouses totalling 3m sq ft. Approx. 1 m sq ft transacted in Scotland.

Logicor - Letting of Scotland's largest ever speculatively built warehouse; 380,000 sq ft at J4M8 to Amazon. Neighbouring 240,000 sq ft building sold to Schuh.

Freescale Semiconductor Inc - Sale and partial leaseback of 800,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in East Kilbride, Glasgow. Subsequent sale of the 31 acre site in 2021 to Copart on behalf of Clowes Developments.

Asda - Sale of 250,000 sq ft distribition warehouse facility in Grangemouth.

St Modwen Properties plc - Provision of acquisition advice for purchase of 32 acre former Rolls Royce facility at Hillington, Glasgow.  Retained to provide Agency advice on 750,000 sq ft estate, rebranded Pegasus Business Park subsequently sold whole site to MEPC.