Average UK warehouse now over 20,000 feet, report reveals

In a recent report, property adviser Knight Frank revealed that warehouses have grown taller. The average height of UK warehouses is over 20,000 feet, 50% higher than 20 years ago.

Higher warehouses maximise operational efficiency and reduce costs. It is more cost-effective to build taller warehouses than wider ones. Labour and energy costs in the warehouse have risen, which has meant that warehouse operators are looking for ways to save money.

E-commerce has significantly grown and is forecasted to continue increasing. Knight Frank estimates that by 2030, an extra 35 million square feet of warehouse space will be required to store inventory for retail sales.

An efficient way to increase capacity is to use more vertical space in a warehouse. If warehouses are built even taller than the current average height, this could be reduced to 28 million

A good warehouse equipment producer meets the challenge of accessing inventory in tall warehouses by designing innovative equipment that enables operators to access stored items at high levels.

There is a shortage of land for building new warehouses. Higher buildings make maximum use of available land.

Johnny Hawkins, a partner at Knight Frank, said:

“Height is increasingly a defining feature of logistics facilities, playing a key role in driving value and performance. For investors, taller buildings can improve income resilience, support long-term value growth and reduce obsolescence risk.”

Investors in warehouse property are looking for taller buildings, which offer better value and less investment risk.

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