Small warehouses on the menu

Deliveroo, the take-out food business, has signed up for a small-box warehouse in Birmingham as pressure on near-urban logistics units grows.

Deliveroo has signed up for 6,092 sq ft at Upper Gough Street, in the centre of Birmingham. Harris Lamb advised.

The unit will become one of a series of so-called “dark kitchens” in which food is prepared to restaurant standards. The lease is for ten years.

The Birmingham deal follows several in central London including dark kitchens in Battersea, Camberwell, Dulwich and Canary Wharf.

Deliveroo is said to be looking for up to 150 more at around 7,500 sq ft each. Rival firms UberEats and Amazon Restaurants are heading in the same direction in London, says research from JLL. Other cities will also be on the menu.

The rapid growth of this sector adds further pressure to an already crowded near-urban logistics market, still struggling experimenting with new models for parcels delivery.