By: Adam Westbury
Date: 3rd October 2019
The Government is continuing to work closely with pharmaceutical manufacturers, wholesalers, trade associations, the NHS and others to try and meet the demand for pharmaceutical warehousing storage in the UK, ahead of a potential no-deal Brexit.
However, procuring extra warehousing to stockpile medicines is no easy task right now. Peter Ward of the United Kingdom Warehousing Association (UKWA) told the BBC Newsnight programme “the market, as represented by our members is full.”
According to warehouse data compiled by Savills and seen by the BBC Newsnight team, the estimated vacancy rate across the UK for warehouses over 100,000 sq ft is just 6.8% with the highest vacancy rate (10.6%) in the West Midlands and the lowest (2.1%) in the East of England. For comparison, in 2009 the UK-wide average was around 23%.
With warehouse supply clearly falling short of demand, there’s a big opportunity for any organisation with the potential wherewithal to convert existing buildings, to realise excellent Government-guaranteed returns.
Obviously, storing pharmaceuticals is not as straightforward as storing non-perishable goods. There are strict temperature control and monitoring standards needed, to meet the regulations and requirements of the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency), as well as those of the manufacturers. But this shouldn’t put anyone off exploring the opportunity.
HVAC expertise in this sector is a necessity and that is exactly what ATS offers its clients. We specialise in the design and installation of high quality, cost-effective temperature control solutions for pharmaceutical warehouses of all shapes and sizes.
If you’d like to explore this opportunity and talk to one of our experts, please contact Kevin Gillen or Ryan Walsh on 01527 833383 or email kevin.gillen@atsclimate.com or ryan.walsh@atsclimate.com.
