Retail warehouse requirements shrink

Retail warehouses are getting smaller and the average new requirement from retailers is less than 12,000 sq ft (1,115 sq m), according to research from FPDSavills.

The agent claims landlords are under pressure to ensure the units they build can be sub-divided easily.

FPDSavills head of commercial research team Mat Oakley said: 'The influx of high street retailers, which are used to trading from smaller stores, and the refinement of brands, has led to this gradual downgrading of requirements. Despite this trend, there are still a number of retailers requiring larger unit sizes and the proportion that requires units in excess of 80,000 sq ft [7,430 sq m] has grown steadily over the past three years.'

The report also found that more than 50 per cent of retailers still consider mezzanine floors essential or desirable in new units, despite moves by the Government to ban their unrestricted development.