Savills Aguirre Newman: Logistics Investment Fell by 17% in H1 2018 to €400M

31 July 2018 – Europa Press

The volume of investment in the Spanish logistics market amounted to €400 million during the first half of the year, down by 17% with respect to the same period in 2017, when the figure amounted to €490 million, according to figures compiled by Savills Aguirre Newman for its report entitled “The Logistics Market in Madrid and Barcelona, H1 2018”.

The entity explained that the decrease is due not to a reduction in investor appetite, but rather to a shortage of available supply in the main markets (Madrid and Barcelona), which is placing the focus of investors on secondary markets (Valencia, Zaragoza and Sevilla).

The initial yield for prime assets remains at around 6%, although for certain operations it has decreased to 5.5%.

In Madrid, according to the report, during the first half of the year, demand in terms of the leasing of logistics space was 17% higher than during the same period last year, with 451,000 m2 of space leased through 36 operations during H1 2018, compared with 387,000 m2 in the same period in 2017.

Four of the operations undertaken in Madrid, exceeding 20,000 m2 each, accounted for 48% of the total space leased. Activity in the Spanish capital was concentrated in Corredor de Henares, where 11 operations were closed, accounting for more than 118,000 m2 of the space leased (52% of the total).

In terms of the land market in Madrid, the report details that six operations were registered, accounting for a volume of more than 280,000 m2 altogether; one purchase stood out, in particular, spanning more than 95,000 m2, in Alcalá de Henares.

On the other hand, during the same period, 390,678 m2 of space was leased in the logistics market in Barcelona. Savills Aguirre Newman highlights the operation to lease a 48,000 m2 warehouse by Vente Privee.

During the first half of the year, 36 transactions were recorded in Barcelona in total, compared with 22 in 2017. One of the trends that has become clear is the projects being developed in the Logistics Activities Zone (ZAL), one of which involves a warehouse measuring 20,500 m2.

Moreover, a total of eight operations exceeding 20,000 m2 were closed, of which five were completed in the second quarter.

Original story: Europa Press

Translation: Carmel Drake