Small units get most of the enquiries
Across 35,893 tenant enquiries and calls on Boxpod in the 12 months to October 2026, the clearest pattern is size. Two thirds of all enquiries (65%) were for units under 1,500 sq ft, even though those units make up only 42% of what is listed. The busiest size band is 500 to 1,500 sq ft: 42% of enquiries from 23% of listings, and 2.7 enquiries per listing over the year.
Larger space is listed far more often than it is asked for. Units over 5,000 sq ft are 27% of listings but attract 10% of enquiries.
| Unit size | Share of enquiries | Share of listings | Enquiries per listing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 500 sq ft | 23% | 19% | 2.1 |
| 500 to 1,500 sq ft | 42% | 23% | 2.7 |
| 1,500 to 5,000 sq ft | 24% | 31% | 1.2 |
| 5,000 to 10,000 sq ft | 5% | 12% | 0.7 |
| Over 10,000 sq ft | 5% | 15% | 0.6 |
Workshops, warehouses and shops lead the way
Nearly 80% of tenant enquiries were for industrial units, warehouses or shops, which together make up just over half of the listings. Storage units are a small share of the market but are in steady demand, with the highest enquiries per listing of any type.
Offices are the exception. They are around a third of all listings but drew about one in ten enquiries, roughly a quarter of the interest an industrial unit or shop attracts. The offices tenants did ask about were small: the typical one was around 470 sq ft.
| Property type | Share of enquiries | Share of listings | Enquiries per listing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial units and warehouses | 48% | 34% | 2.1 |
| Shops and retail | 31% | 18% | 2.5 |
| Offices | 10% | 35% | 0.5 |
| Storage | 5% | 4% | 2.6 |
| Land | 3% | 3% | 1.5 |
What a typical enquiry looks like
The middle of the market is small and affordable. Across all types, the typical unit a tenant enquired about was around 1,000 sq ft with an asking rent of about £12,600 a year. These are the asking rents of the units tenants contacted, not the rents finally agreed.
| Property type | Size | Asking rent a year | Per sq ft a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial unit or warehouse | 1,300 sq ft | £12,000 | £8.85 |
| Shop | 800 sq ft | £15,000 | £19.83 |
| Storage unit | 570 sq ft | £4,800 | £8.29 |
| Office | 470 sq ft | £7,200 | £14.00 |
Price matters as much as size. Units under £10,000 a year drew 40% of enquiries from 22% of listings, around three enquiries per listing. Units over £50,000 a year are 16% of listings but drew 3% of enquiries. And tenants overwhelmingly want to rent: 94.5% of enquiries were for space to let, 5.5% for space to buy.
Where demand is strongest
Demand on Boxpod is spread across the whole country, with a clear centre of gravity in the Midlands. The East Midlands accounted for a quarter of all tenant enquiries, and Leicester alone generated more enquiries than the whole of London (2,092 against 1,087). The North West had the most enquiries per listing of any region.
| Region | Share of enquiries | Enquiries per listing |
|---|---|---|
| East Midlands | 25% | 2.4 |
| South East | 20% | 1.4 |
| East of England | 11% | 1.7 |
| West Midlands | 10% | 1.9 |
| South West | 10% | 0.9 |
| North West | 9% | 3.2 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 7% | 1.6 |
| London | 3% | 0.7 |
| Scotland | 3% | 0.8 |
| Wales | 1% | 2.0 |
| North East | 1% | 1.6 |
The ten towns and cities with the most tenant enquiries were Leicester, London, Derby, Lutterworth, Northampton, Market Harborough, Nottingham, Cambridge, Manchester and Norwich. Industrial rents vary less than you might expect: the typical industrial unit enquired about was around £8 per sq ft a year in the East Midlands and Wales, £9 in the East, North West and South West, and £12 in the South East.
What this means if you are letting a unit
If your unit is small, affordable and somewhere a business can trade from, you are offering what most tenants are looking for. A few things follow from the numbers:
- Lead with size and price. Tenants are filtering on both, so put the floor area and the rent in the title and the first line, and show the price rather than "on application".
- Price for the band tenants are searching in. Most enquiries sit below £20,000 a year, and units under £10,000 a year get the most interest per listing.
- Split larger space if you can. Units over 5,000 sq ft get far fewer enquiries per listing than smaller ones. If a building can be let in parts, listing the parts separately reaches more tenants.
- Expect fewer enquiries for an office. Office demand is real but thinner. Small offices let best, and they need patience.
For timings, see how long it takes to let a commercial unit, and for the checklist before you list, see what you need before listing.
How we measured this
The figures cover every tenant enquiry form and phone-number reveal on Boxpod listings from 1 November 2025 to 31 October 2026: 15,990 enquiries and 19,903 calls, 35,893 in total. Calls are counted once per listing per visitor per day, with automated traffic removed. Monthly enquiries and calls rose from 1,718 in November 2025 to a peak of 4,297 in September 2026.
Shares of listings and enquiries per listing use the listings live on Boxpod on 1 November 2026. Sizes and rents are the asking figures of the units tenants enquired about, weighted by the number of enquiries, not agreed rents. Regions are based on postcode area. The data reflects Boxpod's own listings and tenants, so a town with more Boxpod listings will naturally see more enquiries; the per-listing figures correct for that. Percentages are rounded.