Despite volatility driven by geopolitics, costs, regulation and uncertainty, 2025 looks set to be the strongest year for take-up in the ‘big shed’ occupier market for three years, according to Savills research.
“It feels remarkable,” says Savills given occupiers had to content with “the rise in employment costs from the 2024 Budget, the impact of an upending of trade relations driven by US policy, continued uncertainty regarding the future business rates environment, and an increasing duty to comply with ESG regulations.”
Heading into 2026, the Savills Occupier Advisory team finds itself “exceptionally busy advising corporates across the manufacturing, logistics, retail and defence sectors on projects requiring many different types of warehouse real estate”. The majority of these projects fall into supply chain reorganisation, restructuring, consolidation and efficiencies rather than solely business expansion and growth.
Deals have taken longer over the last 12 months, said Savills, and occupiers were delaying major capex decisions, seeking more flexible lease terms, and, in some cases, consolidating their networks.
Best-in-class units (right size, location, power, ESG, yard depth) remain scarce, often meaning occupiers are leaning toward build-to-suit (BTS) solutions — which are themselves constrained by viability issues.
2026 is expected to look much like 2025, though forecast supply reductions beyond 2026 could shift power back toward landlords later in the decade.