M7 Real Estate sets new headline UK industrial rent at £30 per sq ft

London, 8 August 2018 – M7 Real Estate, the pan-European real estate investor and asset manager, announces that, acting on behalf of a major fund, it has completed the rebuild and letting of three units totalling 6,755 sq ft at Parkfield Industrial Estate, Battersea, SW11 setting a new headline rent of £30 per sq ft. This rental level is believed to be the highest rent ever achieved for a standard open market industrial unit letting in the United Kingdom.

Parkfield Industrial Estate is located in the heart of South West London, close to Clapham Junction railway station. The estate extends to a total of 69,000 sq ft contained within 20 units. M7 was appointed asset manager in September 2017.

Having been destroyed by fire in 2016, practical completion of the rebuild was achieved in May 2018. The previous leases on these units expired within the construction period.

Sotheby’s, the market leading international auction house, has completed a new 10 year lease at a rent of £63,090 per annum on 2,100 sq ft, equating to a £30 per sq ft rent.

Food Stars Limited, a provider of flexible commercial kitchen space, has also completed a 25 year lease, with 10 years term certain, at a rent of £30 per sq ft on 4,600 sq ft with just three months’ rent free.

Daniel Roberts, Senior Asset Manager at M7 Real Estate commented: “Rental growth in London has accelerated further in 2018 with double digit increases seen in most areas. This represents a 65% increase in rental tone for the estate and is a clear demonstration of the impact of supply being taken out of the market through conversion into residential space, coupled with increasing demand for high quality industrial space.”

John Murnaghan, Head of Real Estate in the UK and Ireland, added: “These lettings have set a milestone both for Battersea and the wider market as the race for well located industrial space continues. We are seeing rental levels hitting new heights across the UK fuelled by the supply/demand in-balance and overall structural changes in the market. It is mixed picture in some parts of the country but estates that have strong fundamentals like Battersea continue to drive performance.”