Chinese online shopping giants have launched a warehouse land grab in the UK as they gear up for a battle with Amazon.
In the past 18 months, Chinese e-commerce companies have leased 21 warehouses in the UK with an average size of 200,000 sq ft, according to data from property consultants Knight Frank, with another seven built by investors on behalf of the online retailers.
In total, businesses such as Shein and JD.com have swooped on 6.4 million sq ft of space, equivalent to around six Wembley stadiums or roughly 11pc of the total take-up of large warehouses in Britain.
This compares with just 2.2 million sq ft – or about 4pc of all take-up – in the previous 18 months and less than 1pc before that.
The figures underscore the rapid growth of Chinese investment in vital logistics infrastructure in Europe’s most valuable online retail market.
The deal-making comes before changes to customs duty rules in 2028. These will make it more expensive for Chinese e-commerce giants – which include Shein, JD.com, TikTok Shop and Temu – to send low-value goods directly from China to customers in the UK.
The rule change has prompted them to develop Amazon-style distribution hubs to build up their UK warehouse capacity.
The race for space has triggered alarm among some China hawks, who accuse Beijing of “greedily buying up our land, market share and pricing out British producers”.
Alicia Kearns, the shadow home affairs minister, said: “While economics might not be this Labour Government’s strong point, can they really believe flooding the UK with cheap tat from Shein will help put money into British pockets?”
The land grab means Chinese businesses were the biggest foreign occupiers of UK warehouse space over the past 18 months. They have now overtaken US businesses, which accounted for 4.4 million sq ft of new space.
Nearly three quarters of the new warehouse space taken up by Chinese occupiers is by e-commerce companies or on their behalf. Most of the rest is for manufacturers.
Some of the biggest transactions included a 761,000 sq ft warehouse at Magna Park North in Leicestershire. It was leased by logistics company Bleckmann in April and will be used as a fulfilment centre for several Chinese firms.
The second biggest was a 645,000 sq ft distribution facility near Derby, leased by fast fashion giant Shein in June.
Most of the larger deals are for space in the Midlands “golden triangle” close to main motorway routes.
Chinese capital is also investing directly in facilities. Shanghai-based investor Mit-Log acquired a 540,000 sq ft development at Dove Valley Park near Derby this year for its first UK project.
