“Looking at the third quarter 2023 there are a considerable number of units under offer or with plans to redevelop so with that in mind, we do believe the vacancy rate will continue to fall.”
The regional retail warehousing vacancy rates in the UK have all fallen to Q2 2023 with East Anglia once again recording the lowest overall vacancy rate at 3.4%, which is 2% below the national average.
This regional data should be treated with extreme caution as market size in regions other than the South East and North West is such that, when a major retailer withdraws from the market - or when a retailer closes one or more stores - many figures are temporarily distorted while the market reacts to these major changes.
The North region recorded the greatest fall, down to 4.8% from 7.0% in Q4 2022 with the West Midlands and Yorkshire & Humberside also recording decreases of 1% or more. The smallest decreases were recorded by East Anglia, the North West, the South East and Wales at 0.3%.
If we compare these figures with post pandemic rates 5 years ago the North once again records the biggest decrease – falling by 5.6% over that time. Northern Ireland and the South West both recorded decreases of nearly 4% while the East Midlands had the smallest fall over 5 years at 0.1%.
