The industrial and logistics sector had a stellar close to the year, notwithstanding all the concerns and noise around Covid and Brexit. Take-up figures were well in excess of long run average while investment spend for the quarter was close to record highs and interest remains at unprecedented levels.
The sector is showing resilience to the wider economic shocks of Covid-19, talks of lockdowns and rolling retail closures aren’t impacting the sector to the same degree as others. Performance here is less dependent on economic growth and largely a factor of wider structural changes. The growth of e-commerce continues to drive the sector and this shift is accelerating.
The positive Brexit outcome was a boost to the sector and early indications are that it’s causing increased demand for I&L space. The Brexit deal has allowed for tariff free trading but not frictionless trade. Existing supply chains that had relied so heavily on the UK as a hub for logistics and distribution are now under pressure. We are seeing increased pressure on delivery networks, supply chains and demand for just in time logistics, which all comes against a backdrop of extremely constrained supply.
