What makes a successful warehouse fit-out? Lessons from the logistics sector

Occupiers are investing heavily in logistics fit-outs. Getting the specification right and the costs under control requires more rigour than the market typically applies.

The UK’s logistics and industrial sector has been through an extraordinary period of growth. The pandemic-era surge in e-commerce demand filled warehouses and drove rents to record levels. Prime rents for big-box warehouses exceed £11psft in many markets. Occupiers committing to new leases or fit-outs at those rents have every incentive to specify correctly from the outset; the cost of getting it wrong is significant.

A warehouse fit-out sounds straightforward. In practice, it is a complex coordination exercise between base-build specification, occupier requirements, regulatory compliance, and a cost environment that has moved materially over the last three years.

Average warehouse/industrial build cost in the UK: £105psft, rising to £230psft for food and drink distribution facilities (BCIS / CostModelling, 2025/26)

Specification: the decisions that matter most

Floor loading. This is the most common source of misalignment between occupier expectation and base-build provision. Automated storage and retrieval systems, high-bay racking, and heavy goods vehicles all impose loads that may exceed what a standard industrial unit is designed to carry. Upgrading a floor slab post-occupation is disruptive and expensive, whereas identifying the requirement at fit-out stage is not.

Dock levellers and loading. The number, specification and positioning of dock levellers should be driven by the occupier’s operational model. A scheme designed for parcel sortation has different loading requirements to a pallet-based operation. This sounds obvious — but fit-outs that inherit the base-build dock specification without review regularly create operational inefficiencies that persist for the length of the lease.

M&E and power supply. Logistics fit-outs are increasingly power-hungry. EV charging infrastructure, automation equipment, refrigeration, and welfare facilities all drive electrical loads well beyond what older warehouses were originally designed to supply. Understanding the available supply capacity — and the cost and programme implications of upgrading it — is a core part of the surveyor’s pre-lease advice.

The cheapest point to address a specification problem is before the lease is signed — not after fit-out begins.

Cost control in a volatile market

BCIS construction rates increased 5% on average in Q2 2025 compared to the same period the year before, with demolition and alteration work rising 6.7%. In the logistics fit-out market, where programme certainty is critical to an occupier’s operational commitments, cost volatility translates directly into business risk.

Wakemans has surveying experience across major logistics projects — including the £30 million Pets at Home distribution centre at Stafford, where we provided employer’s agent and cost consultancy services on a 670,000 sqft facility employing over 800 people. The project required two live programmes — base build and tenant fit-out — running simultaneously on a separated site. Programme management and cost control in that environment required absolute rigour.

Due diligence before you commit

For occupiers taking on an existing warehouse — rather than a new build — condition survey work before lease execution is the most valuable investment available. At Wellington House in Speke, Liverpool, Wakemans carried out a condition survey for Indurent that assessed roof and cladding condition, advised on treatment options, and provided feasibility advice to extend the asset’s life. That kind of independent assessment protects the occupier from inheriting dilapidations obligations for defects that predate their occupation.

A successful warehouse fit-out is the product of clear specification, rigorous cost planning, and independent advice at every stage. In a market where rents and fit-out costs are both elevated, the value of getting that right has never been higher.

Wakemans provides building surveying and cost management services across the industrial and logistics sector. Speak to Andrew Hancock and his team about your next warehouse fit-out or other requirements here.