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Industrial Open Storage: The UK Opportunity

Industrial Open Storage is well established as an institutional real estate sector in the United States. In the UK, IOS is attracting increasing attention from investors, developers, landowners and occupiers - but what will it take for the market to achieve its full potential? This online event examines the development of IOS from both an investment and operational perspective. It will explore the lessons from the US market, the ingredients needed for UK growth, investment and portfolio strategy, site identification and value creation, planning and infrastructure constraints, and - critically - what occupiers actually need.

Start Date Venue Price  
17 November 2026 Virtual Seminar £120 BOOK

Note: All prices are to be paid in GBP and are subject to VAT at the prevailing rate

Event duration: Afternoon Webinar (3 Hours CPD).
Registration from: 13.20. Event starts at: 13.25. Event finishes at: 16.45.

Industrial Open Storage (IOS) is emerging as a recognised institutional real estate sector in the UK. In the United States, IOS already attracts significant investment and has developed into a distinct asset class. The UK market is at an earlier stage of its evolution, but many of the characteristics that have driven growth and investment overseas are increasingly evident here.

Demand for well-located outdoor storage and operational land comes from a diverse range of occupiers, including infrastructure, utilities, construction, transport and logistics, equipment rental and other businesses for whom location, accessibility and operational flexibility are critical.

At the same time, the supply of suitable sites is constrained. Planning, competing land uses, power requirements, remediation and the physical characteristics of sites can all affect availability. For investors and developers, these constraints can create both barriers to entry and opportunities for value creation.

This online event brings together perspectives from across the IOS market to examine how the sector is developing in the UK and what will be required for it to grow and mature.

Speakers

Programme

Keynote: How did IOS take Hold?

  • The origins of the asset class 
  • The key drivers behind its growth 
  • What made the USA a global leader in the sector?
  • The institutionalisation of the sector
  • What is the outlook for the next decade?
  • Where the next phase of expansion and innovation may come from

IOS in the UK: Where are We? What are the Key Ingredients for Growth of the UK?

  • A better understanding of the sector by local planning authorities to help protect/increase supply 
  • Difficulty in accessing the national grid is an issue for new supply – particularly for power-hungry uses like EV charging
  • More sites operated by specialist IOS providers will help increase the sector’s accessibility, and also improve the overall image of the sector
  • Continued structural economic change is likely – further increases in online shopping, vehicle electrification, investment in housing and transport, further evolution of global supply chains/reshoring, will bolster occupational demand. However, the sector is relatively resilient to the economic cycle
  • Improving market transparency – the need to bring data up to the same standards as the mainstream industrial sector – Research initiative
  • Classification/order 
  • Recognising IOS as a distinct property class would be helpful, as its fundamental characteristics are so different to other commercial sectors/subsectors

A Panel Discussion: What’s the Investment Potential? What are the Key Components to get Investment?  

  • Where is the capital being deployed?
  • Who are the players?
  • Pricing and yields
  • Deal sourcing and market fragmentation
  • Portfolio construction
  • Financial market conditions and the availability/cost of capital

Site Identification and Bringing Land into the IOS Arena: Development, Planning & Value Creation

  • The inertia in the planning system creates a medium term IOS Opps
  • Planning challenges and opportunities
  • Current local authority perspectives and priorities – what’s in it for them?
  • The future planning direction for IOS and how the sector is likely to evolve from a planning standpoint

Occupier Perspective: What do Tenants Actually Need?

  • Site selection criteria
  • Lease structures
  • Operational requirements
  • ESG considerations
  • Potential industries represented: Infrastructure, Utilities, Construction, Transport and logistics & Equipment rental

Valuation within the IOS Sector

  • Valuation methodologies
  • Asset-level pricing considerations
  • Perspectives from specialist valuers
  • A lender's perspective on the sector