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Ford s Bridgend plant in the frame for Tesla factory
The Tesla chief is reportedly interested in building a factory somewhere in the UK, with industry sources touting Bridgend as ideal
23 May 2021 • 9:00am
A potential home for a new UK Tesla factory will hit the market this summer when the site of carmarker Ford’s former Bridgend car plant in South Wales is put up for sale.
The engine plant, which employed 1000 people, closed its doors for the final time last September after 40 years of operation and is due to be marketed this summer by property consultant CBRE, industry sources said.
By Adam Branson2021-04-30T00:00:00+01:00
Even when you know something to be true, a statistic proving it still has the power to shock. Such is the case when it comes to the huge increase in demand for industrial and logistics space as a result of the Covid pandemic.
Research from Savills, shared exclusively with
Property Week, shows demand in the Midlands in January this year was 223% higher than in January 2020. Across the country, requirements logged in 2020 hit 174m sq ft, 40% of which was for between 100,000 sq ft and 300,000 sq ft and 37% for more than 500,000 sq ft.
But as we start to emerge from lockdown, how likely is it that such high levels of demand will be maintained? And has the market come anywhere near meeting occupier requirements?
SEGRO is to build its first speculative development at its 700-acre East Midlands Gateway scheme in Leicestershire as vacancy rates fall to their lowest levels since 2016.
The developer investor will create over 220,000 sq ft of modern warehousing which SEGRO will market to potential or existing customers. The building is scheduled to be ready for occupation in October 2021.
It is latest developer pushing forward with speculative development this year where it had not originally thought to do so. The move reflects the growing concern that there is not enough supply to satisfy demand following more than 50 million sq ft of take-up last year.
Panel of experts
Tom Leeming – development director at Tritax Symmetry
Bonnie Minshull – director at Savills
Kevin Mofid – head of research for industrial and logistics at Savills
Mark O’Bornick – director at Analytiqa
Covid-19 was the number one concern among occupiers in 2020, an issue which did not rank at all in 2019, but there were other major differences too. Brexit uncertainty went from being the biggest concern of occupiers in 2019 to only their fourth highest in 2020.
With a Brexit deal now over the line, Mark O’Bornick, director at Analytiqa, quipped that the census was “looking at Brexit hopefully for the last time now”. Despite all the events of 2020, he observed that people’s views on Brexit had not changed much.