WHAT IS
OPEN STORAGE?
Open storage land is an undervalued resource. Previously taken for granted, the supply of open storage land has significantly diminished, predominantly as a result of increased rates of development for both commercial and residential uses. It is an increasingly important resource to support manufacturing, construction and transport needs.
The sources of demand for open storage have continued to diversify, and the sectors where demand is growing correlate with those requiring high specification sites. Logistics and parcel operators continue to seek large numbers of sites for the parking and storage of van fleets for both traditional and electric vehicles (EVs). Demand for dedicated self-storage facilities continues to grow as higher density residential development restricts the supply of storage space within the home. Other sectors with increasing demand include Customs and Excise related requirements, transport and infrastructure, plant and machinery hire, building and trade related uses as well as sectors to support to newly emerging industries such as off and on-shore wind power, Solar farms and EV charging for electric vehicles.
THE BENEFITS
First Land focuses on higher quality, sophisticated sites often taking land and buildings which are neglected and in poor condition. We invest in the surface, security and services provision to attract further investment from local occupiers, generating employment on previously inoperable sites.
Although it is difficult to generalise and dependant on specific use, transport requirements are often lower than traditional industrial operations uses due to the storage related uses of the sites.
The precise economic benefits of Open Storage depends on the immediate location and surrounding economic uses, however we estimate that OS can typically generate £0.25m – £0.5m GVA per acre per annum through employment and up to £1m per acre of indirect GVA per acre.
THE USES
A more detailed (but not exhaustive) list of sectors appropriate for Open Storage include:
