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Merlin Properties Closes the Logistics Deal of the Year in Spain

2 November 2017

The socimi owned by Santander and BBVA signed a lease with Leroy Merlin to occupy 100% of its Meco logistics platform.

The real estate investment company Merlin Properties has closed the largest rental operation of a logistics asset in the Spanish market in 2017, after leasing its Meco logistics platform. The tenant that will occupy the logistical platform, located in the northeast area of the Community of Madrid, will be the furniture and decoration firm Leroy Merlin, which will take over the platform’s almost 60,000 square meters. Formed by three warehouses totalling 59,814 square meters on an 87,974 sqm plot of land, the complex was developed, built and marketed by Merlin, which, after months of construction, has just been completed.

The company invested 29.4 million euros in its development, and it will be the first logistics platform in Spain with Leed Platinum efficiency and sustainability certification.

Merlin Properties and Leroy Merlin’s record deal underlines the impressive moment that the real estate logistics market is going through, triggered by the growth of consumption and the rise of e-commerce. Thus, contracted space in the logistics sector in the Madrid market and its area of influence reached 233.357 square meters in the third quarter of 2017, which is one of the highest occupancy rates, together with the previous quarter’s figure, in the historical series, BNP Paribas Real Estate explained.

In total, throughout 2017, the hiring of logistics space in the Madrid market reached 633,438 square meters, a historic high for the series.

Between January and June, Merlin Properties had a turnover of 243 million euros, of which 235 million came from rental income, 53% more than in the same period of 2016. The socimi’s Ebitda increased by 47% to €198.6 million, while net profit went from €211.14 million to €421 million this year.

Original Story: Expansión – Rocío Ruiz

Translation: Richard Turner