A Built-to-Suit (BTS) warehouse is designed and built to meet your specific business needs. A BTS warehouse may be:

•       Owned by the user, using a construction company to construct the building
•       Owned and built by a property developer, then leased by the user (tenant)
•       A hybrid of the above, tailored to suit circumstances

If a sophisticated design is required (e.g. one including warehouse automation), specialists will likely be used to establish the user’s specific needs (current & future) and translate these into a practical warehouse design.

BTS vs Ready-to-Move (RTM) or ‘speculative’ Warehouses

The alternative to a BTS warehouse is to acquire or lease an existing or under construction warehouse that has been designed by a property developer to match perceived market requirements.

What are the key advantages of BTS warehousing?

1.     Location – The opportunity to find suitable land rather than just select from where property developers have built.
2.     Size – The structure will be scaled to meet your specific needs, either with growth capacity inbuilt or to be added as a 2nd phase
3.     Fitness-For-Purpose – The design will specifically cater for your operational requirements, facilitating operational streamlining and productivity
4.     Warehouse automation – The option design for automation and to have the developer fund the automation and wrap it into the rental
5.     ESG compliance – The flexibility to tailor the structure to the degree required to meet your business’ ESG obligations
6.     Cost savings – BTS warehousing has been demonstrated to cut up to 30% from operating cost 

What are the key disadvantages of BTS warehousing?

1.     Lead time – Subject to scale and the degree of automation required, a BTS facility may take 18-30 months to commission
2.     Lease term – If you are leasing the warehouse, the developer will usually require a longer lease term than for an RTM           warehouse, especially if the facility is heavily tailored to very specific needs

Who does BTS warehousing work for?

Virtually any business that meets just three criteria:

1. Scale – Sufficient to warrant the attention and effort of the vendors
2. Stability – Enough for partners to know that your business has longevity

     3. Stay-ability – Being happy to remain in the same warehouse mid-long term

So what now?

LCA Savills has the skill set and knowledge to build your warehouse to order, and it includes the flexibility for future-proofing to adapt to ever-evolving market needs. Peace of mind for a reasonable sum – that’s our promise to you.

You can read more about our Built-To-Suit Warehousing solution here, or you can here or contact us today to receive a complimentary assessment from one of our consultants.