With Brexit just around the corner and a feeling of uncertainty hanging in the air, the business community undoubtedly faces many challenges ahead.
The proposed border changes when the country leaves the EU in March have left many with a sense of unease and a desire to stockpile a high level of imports.
This, however, poses the question of where all these additional products – an estimated £40 billion worth – will be stored.
As property firm Savills has observed, the UK is an ‘under-warehoused country’ – an assessment which is certainly backed up by the statistics.
When compared to the US, the UK falls woefully short with 7.6 square feet of warehouse space available per head compared to 39 square feet per person across the pond.
And a White Paper produced by the United Kingdom Warehousing Association (UKWA), in partnership with Savills, outlined three key factors that point to a rapidly progressing situation.
The report revealed that supply of warehouses in the UK currently stands at 32 million square feet with a vacancy rate of 7.5 per cent. However, 20 per cent of the stock is not deemed fit for purpose.
The expected increase in demand, coupled with the significant lack of space and the decline in speculative developments since the 2007 financial crash, has left the UK in a precarious position.
So, what then, is the solution?
The UK’s leading supplier of temporary buildings, Spaciotempo, believes it has the answer.
The well-established company has been providing semi-permanent warehousing for more than 45 years.
It has installed storage solutions for high-profile companies including Marston’s Brewery, Husqvarna UK and Multimatic, to name but a few.
The temporary buildings are priced around 70 per cent less than permanent facilities, providing a far more cost-effective option and freeing up vital cash flow.
Spaciotempo Divisional Director John Drake said: “Our buildings provide the perfect solution both to the warehousing crisis and to concerns over the impact of Brexit. Businesses have been reluctant to fund new permanent buildings for some time, uncertain as to whether they would make a sound investment for the future.
“That is precisely where temporary buildings come to the fore. Our structures do not require large capital investments and can be installed and dismantled quickly and easily so that businesses can react almost immediately to market
conditions. This flexibility allows companies to take on new contracts as and when demand arises as well as freeing up capital to hire extra staff and cover the cost of additional stock.”
Spaciotempo’s buildings are available in three styles – Neivalu, TempAstor and Oxygen – and, despite their ‘semi-permanent’ description, their anodised aluminium frames and galvanized steel fixings mean they are built to last.
The structures are modular and flexible, and can be designed, manufactured and installed to suit the individual needs of customers.
John added: “We work closely with clients to make sure that we provide a building which is tailored to suit each customer’s specific requirements. We pride ourselves on offering an efficient and effective service meaning companies can have their new building operational within a matter of months following their initial phone call – a fraction of the time it takes for a permanent building to be erected.”
Time was certainly of the essence for Marston’s Brewery in Burton-on-Trent when it needed to increase storage capacity by a massive 45 per cent to cater for a surge in customer demand.
Spaciotempo provided the perfect solution, installing four temporary warehouses measuring 30m by 85m with an eave height of 6m in less than three months.
The huge project, which covered a floor space of 10,200sqm, enabled the brewery to protect and secure up to 14 million bottles – 15,000 pallets – from adverse weather conditions. The height of the units also meant that the continuous movement of forklift trucks could be easily accommodated.
Multimatic turned to Spaciotempo when it wanted to reduce on-site facility costs at its UK headquarters and decided a 20m by 50m temporary storage building on an 8m eave was the ideal option.
Similarly, Husqvarna UK needed to significantly increase production at its factory in Newton Aycliffe – and urgently required storage space to accommodate the growing levels of stock.
Spaciotempo installed an 85m by 12m temporary structure in a matter of weeks, providing Husqvarna with more than 1,000 sqm of additional space to store components ready to be manufactured for overseas customers.
John said: “Spaciotempo has played a vital part in the success of businesses like these for more than 45 years. Our temporary structures undoubtedly provide the answer to the vast warehousing shortfall as companies look for ways to weather the storm of Brexit.”
Contact Details:
Email: sales@spaciotempo.co.uk
Phone Number: 01889 569 569
Website: www.spaciotempo.co.uk
Address: Dovefields, Dovefields Industrial Estate, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, ST14 8HU
