Property types
Valuing industrial property in a taking
Industrial value is a function of how the site works. Vehicle movement, yard area, rail or dock access and clear building space determine what the premises can be used for, and a taking that disturbs any of them changes the tenant market.
Method
Cost and income, with thin comparables
Industrial comparables are scarcer than residential or retail ones, and the properties are less alike. Buildings differ in height, loading configuration, power supply and yard ratio in ways that resist tidy adjustment. Appraisals therefore lean more heavily on the income approach where the property is let, and on the cost approach where the building is purpose built.
The decisive question in a partial taking is usually operational rather than valuational. Can a lorry still get in, turn and leave. If the answer is no, the market of possible occupiers narrows sharply and the after value falls by much more than the land area implies.
What to document
Evidence that supports an industrial claim
Vehicle swept paths
A drawing showing the turning circle before and after is more persuasive than any description.
Yard utilisation
Photographs and records showing how the yard is actually used across a working week.
Utility and power infrastructure
Substations, compressors, tanks and lines that must be relocated or lost.
Rail, dock or weighbridge access
Specialised infrastructure that cannot be replicated elsewhere on the site.
Expansion land
Area held for a planned extension, where the plan is documented.
Environmental and licensing constraints
Permits tied to the site layout that a changed configuration would breach.
Questions about industrial property
Our machinery is bolted down. Is it part of the property
Fixtures attached to the realty are generally compensable as part of the property; trade fixtures and movable plant are usually dealt with under relocation. The boundary is fact specific and worth settling early.
The taking removes our yard but not the building
That can be the most damaging form of partial taking in this sector, because the building without the yard may not be lettable to the occupiers who would otherwise want it.
Our site has a rail siding that will be cut
Specialised access of that kind is often the reason the property is worth what it is. Its loss should be analysed explicitly in the after value rather than treated as incidental.
Get a valuation question answered
If an offer has arrived and the number does not match what you believe the property is worth, the appraisal behind it is the place to look. Start with the pages below.