Dentons and Property Week brought together a range of experts to debate the issues and opportunities that lie ahead for the industrial and logistics sector at a virtual roundtable discussion event in June 2021.

Property Week editor Liz Hamson and Alex Coulter, partner at Dentons, were joined by: Chris Earle, director of industrial and logistics occupier advisory at Savills; Andrea Ferranti, associate director for industrial client engagement and research and forecasting at Colliers International; Henry Giles, fund manager for IULIF, portfolio director, real estate at InfraRed Capital Partners; Edmond Leahy, senior estates manager at Hermes Parcelnet; Eleanor Rush, associate director, group investment at SEGRO; Sylvia Slaughter, senior director – fund management at GLP Europe; Andrew Smith, strategy director at LondonMetric; and Steve Widdowson, North West director at Caddick Developments.

They discussed what the post-COVID future will look like for the industrial and logistics sector; the impact of Brexit; the sustainability of last-mile logistics and the sector's commitment to the ESG agenda; whether multi-storey developments are a possible solution to the supply-demand imbalance; and what they predict the sector will look like in two years' time.

Click to read the full discussion: Is the future bright for logistics? As reported in Property Week on Friday 2 July 2021.

Listen to the industry experts thought provoking response by clicking on the soundbite below.

What does the post-COVID future hold for the industrial and logistics sector?

Did Brexit stockpiling and supply chain uncertainty impact leasing demand and where are we now?

How do investors define last mile logistics and why do some regard it as more trouble than it is worth?

How does the definition of last mile logistics differ across the industry?

What is last mile logistics?