Lack of warehouse building activity in Scotland has seen rents for 10-50,000ft² warehouses in Scotland grow three times faster year-on-year than the UK average.
According to commercial property firm Colliers International, the lack of warehousing was hampering growth in the retail distribution sector.
Prices for prime industrial space rose on average 7.7% in the 12 months to July 2017, compared to a rise of 2.3% in the UK as a whole, to the current Scotland average of £7.59 per ft². This compares to a current UK average of £8.68 per ft².
Colliers International said Glasgow, which accounts for much of Scotland's industrial and logistics needs, is running short of space to accommodate growth in the retail and manufacturing sectors.
Bo Glowacz, senior research analyst, Research and Forecasting at Colliers International, said: “Availability has been declining gradually year on year in Greater Glasgow to the present 7m ft².
“There are virtually no new or nearly new available buildings of between 30,000 and 95,000ft², and just three modern warehouses of over 95,000ft² currently available, all within Eurocentral.”
Iain Davidson, head of Colliers International's Industrial and Logistics team in Scotland, called on the Scottish government to take action to protect the economy.
“Many businesses now see modern, good quality premises as a way to operate more efficiently. The Scottish government should be seeking to encourage commercial building, not placing barriers in its way such as the abolition of rates relief,” he said.
