Over £1bn of industrial assets under offer signals improving investment market despite softer H1 volumes
Investment volumes in the UK industrial sector reached £2.38bn in H1 2026, compared with £3.28bn in H1 2025, according to Savills. However, it says that the headline figure masks a market that remains active, with more than £1bn of additional industrial transactions moving under offer during Q2, providing a likely strong early pipeline for transaction completions during the second half of the year.
According to the international real estate advisor, transaction numbers remained broadly stable year-on-year, with 85 deals completing in H1 2026 compared with 80 in H1 2025. While deal count remains below pre-pandemic levels, the average transaction size in H1 stood at £27.8m, up 7% against the 10-year H1 average. This reflects a buoyant industrial portfolio market, focus on larger-scale opportunities and the availability of significant capital continuing to seek deployment into the sector.
Savills says that investor demand remains concentrated on well-located multi-let industrial estates, and increasingly – in particular lot size ranges – prime distribution assets, supported by resilient occupational fundamentals, a continued rental growth story and the sector’s ability to deliver durable income returns. The range of active buyers also continues to broaden, with increasing participation from Local Government Pension Schemes and other long-term institutional investors.
Charlie Foster, director, industrial investment at Savills, comments:”The industrial investment market is in stronger health than the headline volume figures might suggest. Whilst investment volumes were lower during the first half of the year compared to 2025, transaction activity remained relatively stable, average deal size is up on the long-term trends and approximately £1bn of extra stock going under offer during Q2, demonstrates ongoing robust investor appetite for the sector.
“Importantly, the pool of capital targeting the sector is growing. Alongside established industrial investors, we are seeing increasing interest from pension capital and other long-term institutions seeking exposure to the sector’s structural drivers, including constrained Grade A supply, resilient occupier demand and a strengthening rental growth outlook.”