Rent and sale of class B warehouses

Retail and eCommerce domains are rapidly growing worldwide. They need specially equipped warehouses to store products with predetermined temperature conditions. Large amounts of food companies prefer to rent B class warehouses. Such storage facilities combine greate storage conditions and lower rental rents in comparison with class A warehouses.

According to the most popular classification by brokerage agency Knight Frank, a warehouse of type B is a premise with one or several floors. As a rule, such facilities are rectangular-shaped. Class B warehouse can be built from scratch or reconstructed by storage requirements.

Multi-storey warehouses have to be equipped with freight elevators. According to the classification, minimum load capacity is at least 3 tons. Also, experts from Knight Frank company clarify the optimal number of elevators. It’s 1 unit per 2 000 square meters. This requirement is optional.

Warehouse classification by classes is a convenient tool for real estate market players. Therefore, a tenant can evaluate a facility, find out more information about minimum requirements for a warehouse of any type, and choose the most relevant premises.

According to the Knight Frank’s classification, warehouses are divided into 6 types. They are “A+”, “A”, “B+” “B”, “C”, and “D”. Class A+ warehouses are facilities which fully meet business needs. They are equipped with everything that is necessary for safe products storage. And class C warehouses are the lowest type of facilities for product storage without special conditions. Type B warehouses are interim.

Brokerage agency Knight Frank imposes minimum requirements to class B warehouses specifications:

• Minimum ceiling height is 6 meters.
• Asphaltic or concrete floor without anti dust coating.

It should be noted that there are no requirements in the classification to minimum floor load for class B warehouses.

Also, Knight Frank imposes additional requirements to utility lines and equipment for class B warehouses:

• Heating systems.
• Smoke detectors and fire control systems.
• Telecommunications.
• Safeguarding and video observation systems.

Also, there have to be good conditions for vehicles loading and unloading in class B warehouses. Facilities are equipped with ramps. Moreover, here are platforms, where a transport can operate and wait its turn on loading/unloading.

According to Knight Frank’s requirements, security personnel work on warehouse territory. One more mandatory requirement is availability of support facilities, such as offices, locker rooms, housekeeping areas, etc.

The classification also imposes optional requirements:

• Air ventilation systems.
• Railway near a warehouse.
• Offices on warehouse territory.
• Autonomous electric power substation.
• Heating unit.
• Access control systems.

To conclude, class B warehouses trail class A facilities by specifications and operational features. Therefore, they suit companies which want to rent a warehouse at an optimal price.

At the moment there is an accurate shortage of high-end warehouses in Ukraine. Large retailers prefer to build their own modern storage facilities from scratch. However, class B warehouses could offer a good alternative for smaller companies.

The most popular location to rent a warehouse in the Kyiv region is Brovary. It’s a satellite city with a huge industrial capacity and convenient traffic interchange. Moreover, the Chernihiv highway (M01)  runs here.

B-class warehouses to lease are in demand and among large companies. So, according to the CBRE’s information, Fozzy has rented more than 7 000 square meters of RLC Peremoha warehouse in 2020. Also, logistics provider UVK has expanded by renting more than 4 000 square meters of storage area in Unilogic Park II warehouse.

Report for 1H 2020 by CBRE shows that class B warehouses rental rents range from 90 to 110 UAH per square meter. While considering renting, companies should also note facility type, as the renting price for cold storage areas will be higher. It’s from 200 UAH per square meter.

As a rule, renting price for warehouses is calculated by 3 options:

1. Location. It significantly affects the total logistics costs. If a warehouse is located far from points-of-sale, transportation expenses grow. Moreover, it’s important to take into account time on traffic jams, when a warehouse is located near busy roads. Warehouse location is an important option for companies with last-mile logistics activities. So, as storage facilities are located near a city with convenient traffic interchanges, renting price is higher.
2. Type. There are different temperature conditions requirements for the products. Warehouses are divided into types to meet business needs. They can be warm, cold, dry, multi-temperature, etc. For example, the most suitable way to store meat is a cold warehouse with low temperatures. To store metal goods and protect them from corrosion, companies consider renting dry warehouses. Additional equipment, such as chillers, heating and air conditioning systems, helps to maintain optimum temperatures. Price to rent a warehouse will be higher.
3. Class. According to the existing classifications, the higher class, the more requirements for a facility. This means lessors, landlords, and developers need to ensure great specifications, additional conveniences, and provision of amenities. That’s why the rent price for class A+ warehouse will be higher than for class D warehouse.

Tenants should know majority landlords suggest rent price per 1 square meter. So, the more storage space a company needs, the higher costs. While calculating expenses on warehouse maintenance, it should be considered utility payments.

3PL providers, retailers, and other business domains use logistics real estate to scale their business. Nevertheless, searching for storage facilities is time consuming, as there are no user-friendly tools in the market. WareTeka was developed to solve the problem.

We offer:

• Convenient tools to search for warehouse by options. One company needs to store products in direct temperature-controlled conditions, another one requires just a place for production needs. WareTeka simplifies storage facilities finding. On the platform, you can sort ads by option (location, type, class, degree of mechanization, etc). The system selects only relevant propositions.
• The largest warehouse database in Ukraine. WareTeka has collected more than 1 000 storage facilities across the country on single platform. Warehouse databases are continuously growing, so a company can find a reliable storage area.
• Verified partners. We check every user. All deals on the platform are safe.
• Assistance in warehouse selection. WareTeka’s experts help users to find a facility that meets business needs. Just ask for help in the chat.

Begin scrolling for a warehouse on WareTeka. It’s simple, fast, and secure.