Canterbury's appeal
With Carbon Property now in its third year, the company has kicked off another industrial development in the southwest of the city – a clear signal of continued momentum and confidence in Canterbury’s industrial sector.
This latest project began when an experienced Central Otago-based investor sought out Carbon Property to deliver a warehouse development in the region. Canterbury is increasingly seen as a promising alternative for out-of-town investors – particularly those looking beyond the crowded commercial landscape of Queenstown and Auckland – offering land, infrastructure access, and long-term growth potential.
The site sits within Mānia Park, a Ngāi Tahu land development in Hornby, strategically positioned near key transport links. From here, heavy goods vehicles can easily access state highways to the north, south, and west, as well as Port Lyttelton. The Southern Motorway provides a direct connection between Christchurch and Rolleston, while Christchurch Airport is just 12 minutes away.
For Carbon Property, the brief was both simple and complex. The team was tasked with delivering what Managing Director Ben Lagan describes as a “speculative warehouse” – a build without a confirmed tenant, requiring flexibility in design to suit a range of potential users, while also aligning with their typical development approach.
“We do a full end-to-end development management service. Essentially, our client bought a block of land through the Bayleys Real Estate team, then tasked us with creating the maximised development solution that would fit the right segment of the future tenancy market. This requires a high degree of balance between technical development expertise and strategic market knowledge.”
To achieve this, Ben compares the process to baking a cake. “You have your key development ingredients – the finite parameters of the existing site and what you can realistically achieve with site coverage while overlaying the latest transport trends and how these impact a future occupant. We then summarise how these interact with current property valuation trends and rental expectations from an investment perspective. We also look at where industrial property trends are heading based on larger markets like Auckland and Australia, and factor in what will be useful in the years to come. It’s this knowledge that we draw on to set up the best outcome for our clients.”
“The investor is essentially taking a punt on where the future tenants and their businesses will be in 12 to 18 months”, says Ben.
The latest Quarterly Canterbury Business Survey from Business Canterbury supports that optimism. According to the report, 76 per cent of Canterbury businesses expect the regional economy to strengthen over the next 12 months. Meanwhile, 71 per cent plan to invest in property, plant and equipment, and 70 per cent anticipate hiring new staff. At the same time, 84 per cent say they are confident in their ability to manage disruption.
For Ben, this noticeable shift in investor behaviour is clear. Where capital has previously sat on the sidelines, there is now a growing appetite to move earlier – even without tenants locked in.
“What’s most exciting is that late last year, we started to see a change in investor sentiment in the industrial property sector. Investors are no longer holding back capital and are committing to untenanted properties with the view to pre-lease them before the project completion date.”
“This is a huge sign of confidence in the Canterbury region, and it is great that pre-emptive investment capital is finally starting to re-deploy back into the market. Positive news ahead for Canterbury.”