The logistics and industrial property market in West Yorkshire is gathering momentum – with speculative development making a long-awaited return to the region, it is claimed.

And development sites in Kirklees have also proved popular, according to the latest research from global property consultancy Knight Frank.

Tom Lamb, industrial property specialist at Knight Frank in West Yorkshire, said: “The West Yorkshire region saw strong take-up in the first half of this year. For units above 50,000 sq ft, take-up reached 2.52m sq ft – four times the level for the second half of last year and more than twice the five year bi-annual average.”

“The majority of this year’s transactions involved Yorkshire-based manufacturing firms,” said Mr Lamb,.

He said: “This confidence has helped speculative development to make its long-awaited return to the region.

“The return of speculative development will provide a much needed boost to the quality of supply in the region and it is hoped that other development sites will start to come forward as confidence in the market gathers momentum.”

Following a prolonged absence, the pre-let/pre-sale market has returned to West Yorkshire this year, with three deals totalling 260,000 sq ft.

Of these, the largest was Fyffe’s Bananas’ 115,000 sq ft pre-sale at Trident Park at Junction 31 of the M62.

The first six months of this year also saw a number of long-registered requirements finally bear fruit, although there remain a number of major shed requirements in the region for units ranging from 200,000 sq ft to 500,000 sq ft.

Mr Lamb said: “Current demand is being driven by manufacturers rather than distribution, while e-commerce-based requirements are proving reluctant to commit at present.

“Close to 500,000sq ft of this year’s take-up involved new space, with total new build supply reducing by 25% during the period.

“Nevertheless, the market does possess an oversupply of second-hand product in the 5,000sq ft to 10,000sq ft size range, with numerous multi-let estates of comparable age in the region.

“However, the market for good quality product in the smaller size brackets remains strong, with schemes at prime junction locations such as Access 26, Cleckheaton, and Overland Park, Birstall, experiencing strong demand.

“Both sites are now fully occupied with headline rents rising to a new high in this unit size category.”