(Bloomberg) --
Demand for U.K. warehouses reached a record in the second quarter as the coronavirus pandemic fueled the online shopping boom.
Warehouse owners leased out 12.8 million square feet (about 1.2 million square meters) in the three months through June, an increase of 64% from the year-earlier period, according to broker CBRE Group Inc. A total of 36 deals were completed in the quarter.
“A large increase in online retail spending has been a key driver in the demand spike,” Paul Farrow, CBRE's head of U.K. industrial and logistics, said in the statement on Wednesday. “We expect the appetite for logistics space to continue to grow.”
Demand for warehouses was already booming before the pandemic. Now the virus has prompted late adopters to shop online, pushing major retailers including Amazon.com Inc. to boost their warehouse footprints.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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