Midlands leads as logistics market ‘accelerates’
The Midlands has accounted for 71% of all UK industrial and logistics take-up this year, according to latest figures produced by CBRE.
The firm’s Big Box Market Analysis report, which tracks new leasing and freehold transactions involving logistics buildings of 100,000 sq ft or more, showed gathering momentum across the region in Q3.
The East Midlands recorded 2m sq ft of take-up in Q3 2026, bringing YTD take-up to 7.2m sq ft – 42% above the 2025 full-year total. Space under offer continued to rise, reaching 5.8m sq ft across eight units at the end of the quarter, the highest in the UK.
Meanwhile, the West Midlands also surpassed its 2025 full-year total, with 2m sq ft of take up pushing the region to 4.7m for the year-to-date. Space under offer totalled 1.1m sq ft across four units at the end of Q3.
Speculative space under construction rose 70%, but second-hand and newly completed speculative space decreased by 10% and 31%, respectively. The vacancy rate fell to 3.99%, the second-lowest in the UK.
The UK logistics market on the whole accelerated during the quarter, with the vacancy rate falling to 6.56% from 7.1% at the end of Q2, despite quarterly take-up moderating. Year-to-date take-up now stands at 16.8 million sq ft across 69 deals.
“With the Midlands take-up dominating the rest of the UK, this rapid growth reveals increased occupier confidence and an acknowledgment that well located Grade A units are in short supply with speculative development behind current levels of demand in certain size brackets,” said Peter Monks, senior director in CBRE’s I&L Midlands team.
“As operational efficiency and supply chain resilience continue to be prioritised by occupiers, giving the Midland’s central location, connected transport networks and large labour pool advantages over other locations, the market will likely remain active as we enter Q4.”
