“The region’s industrial property market put in another positive performance in 2011, with leasing activity mirroring that of the previous year,” he said.

“Sectors such as manufacturing, automotive and online retailing were the most active during the year, with notable deals including Amazon’s 707,000 sq ft letting at Gazeley’s G.Park development in Rugeley and Jaguar Land Rover’s proposed new one million sq ft engine plant at i54 in Wolverhampton, and we expect further activity in these sectors during 2012 with a number of significant design and builds to be announced shortly.”

With availability of new industrial units in short supply, Mr Meering said there would be increasing opportunities for developers offering “oven ready” design and build schemes.

He also said developers are starting to consider speculative building again, particularly units in the 10,000 – 60,000 sq ft bracket, and there is a strong likelihood that the first speculative schemes since 2007 will be built this year.

“Looking ahead, there is hope that warehouse demand from manufacturers will increase, particularly in the Midlands, in response to the development of Jaguar Land Rover’s new engine plant in Wolverhampton and increased capacity at the carmaker’s other plants,” he said.