By Ian McConnell
A PROPERTY expert says demand for industrial and logistics space has been “supercharged” in the last year, fuelled by e-commerce growth amid the coronavirus pandemic, as he prepares to market a development on a former Scottish steelworks site.
Work has begun on a major extension to Gartcosh Industrial Park in Lanarkshire, amid what property agent Colliers describes as an “urgent requirement for high-specification buildings” arising from strong demand for industrial and logistics space in central Scotland.
Gartcosh Industrial Park is a joint venture between Fusion Assets and J Smart & Co (Contractors).
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The two, second-phase units due to be completed later this year will be 16,000 sq ft and 24,500 sq ft. The development is being marketed by Colliers, with the new space thought most likely to be occupied by two separate tenants.
Asked to what degree the pandemic had increased demand for industrial and logistics space, Iain Davidson at Colliers cited a “significant increase in last-mile distribution and e-commerce generally” and “more localised storage”.
He added: “[The] industrial and logistics [property] sector was resilient prior to the pandemic but the last 12 months have supercharged demand in this sector.”
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The extension follows last year’s completion of phase one. Logistics company DX Network Services has become the tenant of the 18,000 sq ft unit built in the first phase.
Mr Davidson, director of industrial and logistics at Colliers in Glasgow, said: “As businesses continue their focus on increasing capacity and driving efficiencies, speculative developments in strategically important locations, such as Gartcosh Industrial Park, will play an ever-increasing role.”
Murray Collins, managing director of Fusion Assets, said: “This latest development reaffirms our commitment to regenerate and create long-term economic opportunities across North Lanarkshire.”
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