Logistics Space: Demand Rose In Madrid & Barcelona In 2016

16 January 2017 – Inmodiario

Barcelona is breaking records in terms of the volume of space being leased; Madrid is improving its absorption rates compared to 2015; and both Madrid and Barcelona are resuming activity involving higher risk developments. Both cities are benefitting from the economic recovery.

410,000 m2 of logistics space was leased out in Madrid in 2016, whereby exceeding the volume leased out in 2015 (385,000 m2). This trend reflects the context of improving retail sales and internal consumption.

Demand in the capital centred around the A-2 and A-4 motorways – the latter stood out the most during the fourth quarter as it accounted for three quarters of the absorption seen during that quarter (126,000 m2), which in turn accounted for a third of the space leased during the year (410,000 m2).

39 new lease contracts were signed during the year, of which 6 were major operations covering a surface area of more than 15,000 m2. The trend was similar to that seen in 2015, in terms of both the total number as well as the size of operations. This confirms that the major operators and logistics users are concentrating their activity in the large logistics hubs.

We also highlight the new higher risk developments, in other words, those that do not have pre-agreed tenants, given the lack of available quality and the obsolescence of existing warehouses. In recent years, operators have been leasing the highest quality warehouses, which means that those left available do not fulfil minimum requirements.

(…) Almost 350,000 m2 of new build logistics space is expected to be constructed in 2017, with almost 100,000 m2 as turn-key or pre-lease projects.

Prime rents amounted to around €5/m2/month in Madrid in 2016 and are expected to rise, given the shortage of available modern space and the added values that the warehouses that are going to be opened in 2017 are expected to offer. (…).

The leasing of logistics space in Barcelona exceeded the record set in the previous year, to reach 645,000 m2.

That figure represents a YoY increase of 17% if we compare it with data at the end of the previous year (…).

The main operations included in this figure are: the new logistics centre that Amazon plans to inaugurate at the end of 2017 in El Prat de Llobregat, which will have a surface area of more than 63,000 m2. It also includes Mango’s leasing of space in Lliçà covering a surface area of 119,000 m2. (…).

Prime rents in Barcelona now stand at €6/m2/month, whereby returning to 2009 levels, having increased by 9% in 2016, due to the lack of Triple A product and the increase in demand from the main operators. (…).

Original story: Inmodiario

Translation: Carmel Drake