Tag: logistics sector

Patrizia Buys a Logistics Asset in Toledo for €37.5M

28 November 2018 – Eje Prime

Patrizia Immobilien AG is gaining financial muscle in the Spanish market. The German fund manager has purchased a space measuring 66,424 m2, divided into two properties, south of Madrid for €37.5 million. With this operation, the company is strengthening another of its key segments in the Spanish real estate market, after launching its first residential project in the country in July 2017.

The latest complex is located in the municipality of Ontígola in Toledo and is leased in its entirety to two tenants: the transport company DHL and the company specialising in logistics for the textile sector Logisfashion. Both groups are expected to begin their activity in the premises during the first half of 2019.

Patrizia has acquired this logistics unit through its latest fund. In fact, it is the seventh fund that the company has launched in Europe with the aim of buying real estate assets, in particular in the segment for offices, industrial assets and residential properties.

“This operation underlines the company’s commitment to the Spanish logistics sector, which is experiencing one of its best ever moments due to the boost from e-commerce and the shortage of good-quality assets”, said Eduardo Roza, Head of Operations at Patrizia in Spain, in a statement.

Currently, the group manages four logistics properties located in Madrid and Barcelona, spanning more than 200,000 m2 in total. In Spain, Patrizia also has a portfolio of residential rental assets worth €1 billion. The company has its headquarters in Spain in Madrid, where it employs a workforce of fourteen.

The group is headquartered in Augsburg, Germany and was founded in 1984 by its current CEO, Wolfgang Egger. Patrizia Immobilien is one of the largest real estate investment management entities in Europe. The company controls a real estate portfolio worth €19.5 billion with assets located across more than fifteen countries in the Old Continent.

The company operates as a strategic investment advisor, both for large institutional investors (insurance companies, pension funds, sovereign funds, savings banks and credit cooperatives), as well as for domestic and international investors.

Original story: Eje Prime (by Berta Seijo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Blackstone Negotiates the Purchase of 37 Logistics Centres from Neinver for €290M

22 November 2018 – Eje Prime

Blackstone is on a mission in the Spanish logistics sector. The US giant is finalising the purchase of 37 logistics centres that the Spanish group Neinver and the Californian fund Colony Capital own in the country, which span a total surface area of 261,000 m2, for €290 million.

In this way, Neinver, owned by the businessman José María Losantos, and Colony will put an end to an alliance that was created in 2015 to invest €200 million over the medium term in properties relating to the logistics sector in Spain, according to reports from Expansión.

For Blackstone, the operation represents a new boost to its investment strategy in Spain, where it already owns a portfolio worth more than €22 billion. The fund has managed to convert itself into the largest owner of real estate in the country with operations in the residential, hotel and logistics sectors.

In terms of this latest segment, the group already owns 1 million m2 of industrial space in Spain, through Logicor, in which it retains a 10% stake. In July, Blackstone purchased Lar’s logistics portfolio for €120 million, its first major industrial acquisition in the country.

Meanwhile, Neinver divides its activity between investment in land and logistics warehouses and the management of 19 outlets. The group carries out its activity in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, France, the Czech Republic and Poland. Moreover, Colony Capital is a US company specialising in real estate operations with USD 44 billion in assets under management.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Invesco Buys 2 Warehouses in Madrid’s Prime Logistics Area from GreenOak

21 November 2018 – Eje Prime

Invesco is raising its commitment to the Spanish logistics sector. The British real estate group has purchased two warehouses located in the Puerta de Madrid Logistics Park from the US fund GreenOak. The two warehouses have a surface area of more than 38,000 m2, according to a statement from the company.

The assets are located on Calle de los Tapiceros in San Fernando de Henares, an area very close to the Spanish capital and the A-2 motorway, the busiest road in the last mile market. Invesco expects that the warehouses, which have a high degree of occupancy, will be finished by the end of the year. The operation has been advised by the real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield.

This new investment in Madrid, whose amount has not been revealed, follows the group’s search for a tenant for the 30,000 m2 logistics platform that it owns in Los Gavilanes, in Getafe.

Moreover, across the whole of Spain, Invesco has undertaken several operations in the logistics market over the last year. One of the most important took place last December when the real estate group acquired the facilities that house the headquarters of Mango in Palau-solità i Plegamans (Barcelona) for more than €100 million.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

French Fund Ojirel Buys a 7,360m2 Warehouse in Madrid

6 November 2018 – Eje Prime

International funds are continuing to back the Spanish logistics sector. The investment firm Organa III, created by the French real estate investment company Ojirel, has just acquired an industrial warehouse spanning 7,360 m2 in Madrid.

The asset, located in the municipality of San Agustín de Guadalix, was owned by a Spanish company specialising in logistics services. The contract specifies that the warehouse will continue to be operated by its previous tenant, a German multi-national specialising in automotive spare parts, for five more years.

The operation, which has been advised by the real estate consultancy firm Iremcap, “shows the growing interest from French real estate investment funds in the acquisition of real estate assets in Spain”, according to sources at the consultancy firm.

Madrid is one of the magnets in the country for logistics investors. Although the spectrum of the sector is increasingly broad and is spanning increasingly more regions, the area surrounding the Spanish capital is the most attractive for 63% of those surveyed in the latest edition of the International Logistic Fair (SIL), which is organised every year by the company Prologis.

That is also reflected in the numbers. 632,000 m2 of logistics space was leased in the Spanish capital during the first half of 2018. Similarly, more than half of the assets leased corresponded to warehouses with a surface area of more than 20,000 m2, according to the latest report published by CBRE.

Due to the boom in e-commerce, in particular, the market for industrial centres and warehouses in Spain is currently one of the strongest in Europe. Despite the high demand for assets, in cities such as Barcelona and Madrid, just 4% of stock is available, which is driving up rental prices. The experts indicate that the main challenge facing logistics firms between now and 2022 is how to “adapt existing properties to the new needs of companies”.

Original story: Eje Prime (by B. Seijo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Grupo Lar to Invest €250M in New Logistics Developments

28 October 2018 – Expansión

The property developer Grupo Lar is going to bet on the logistics segment in Spain over the coming years, with a planned investment of around €250 million to purchase land and build warehouses.

The Managing Director of Grupo Lar, Miguel Amo, explained that the first project included in that investor package is being carried out in Quart de Poblet (Valencia), where the firm is on the verge of purchasing a plot spanning 40,000 m2. The pre-agreement to the purchase was negotiated in July and the audit has recently been completed prior to the construction of a warehouse measuring 25,000 m2 on the site.

Following that project in Valencia, the new team for the logistics segment at Grupo Lar is preparing and negotiating other investments in Barcelona, Madrid, Málaga, Sevilla and País Vasco, with the “same structure”: minority shareholders and in-house management.

The investments in logistics land have been decided by the property developer Grupo Lar – which is owned in its entirety by the Pereda family – after it was announced that the new strategy of the Socimi, Lar España Real Estate, will focus purely on the shopping centre segment (“retail”).

Grupo Lar owns 10% of Lar España and is that firm’s second largest shareholder. It will also operate the Socimi’s management contract until 2021.

Lar España’s focus on retail has caused the Socimi to divest from other segments, such as residential, offices and logistics.

According to Amo, the difference is that the Socimi’s logistics investments involved finished warehouses, whereas those planned by the group include the acquisition of land and development. In the residential segment, Grupo Lar has a portfolio of land for 15,000 homes, of which around 4,000 are active in the seven markets in which it operates: Mexico, Spain, Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Poland and Romania.

The firm expects to close 2018 with around 2,000 homes delivered, for almost €450 million.

In Spain, the group has around 2,000 homes in its portfolio, of which 350 are active, with plans to handover around 250 during 2018.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

Segro Purchases 44,500 m2 of Land for Industrial Development in Madrid

11 October 2018 – Eje Prime

Segro is increasing its commitment to the Spanish logistics sector. The British Socimi, which specialises in the industrial segment, has purchased 44,500 m2 of land on which it is going to build two urban distribution centres in Madrid.

The first logistics space is going to be located in the south of the Spanish capital. The centre, spanning a surface area of 33,500 m2, will be located in the district of Villaverde, an area that is home to multinationals such as Telefónica, Repsol and Air Liquide.

The Socimi is also planning to build a second warehouse measuring 11,000 m2 in the Madrilenian municipality of Coslada, where it already owns a business park. The company has chosen that location due to its proximity to Barajas airport, the centre of the Spanish capital and motorways such as the A-2 and the M-40.

This operation reinforces the good times that the logistics sector is enjoying in Spain, driven by the rise in e-commerce in the country. Not in vain, in 2017, the sector achieved an investment record, exceeding €1.5 billion.

With demand constantly growing, above all due to the arrival of international funds and investment firms that are keen to enter the logistics segment, encouraged by the high yields and stability, operators are also looking for land in the last mile space to respond to current demands. That means the development of sites on the outskirts of large cities, with assets that are no more than 50km away from the city centre.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

CBRE: Logistics Leasing in Spain Grew by 17% during First 9 Months of 2018

8 October 2018 – Eje Prime

The logistics sector is continuing its rate of growth. In total, 1.38 million m2 of logistics space was leased in Spain during the nine months to September, up by 17% compared to the same period in 2017.

Investment in the industrial sector also increased between January and September 2018, exceeding €1.1 billion, up by 43% compared to the previous year, according to CBRE. Prime yields, on the other hand, amounted to 5.55%, driven by high buyer activity and a shortage of available products on the market.

In terms of geographical areas, during the first nine months of the year, 632,000 m2 of logistics space was leased in Madrid, almost equalling the figure recorded during the same period in 2017. Of that amount, more than 50% corresponded to warehouses with surface areas spanning more than 20,000 m2.

Similarly, in Barcelona, the other city that accounts for some of the most logistics activity in the country, 483,000 m2 of logistics space was leased during the nine months to September, whereby exceeding the figure registered during the same period a year earlier by 53%. The lack of available space in the first and second rings means that the volume of space leased depends, to a large extent, on turnkey projects and pre-leases.

For another quarter, prime rents in both Madrid and Barcelona remained stable at €5.25/m2/month and €6.75/m2/month, respectively.

Other areas recorded a good level of activity during the nine months to September with Valencia, Zaragoza and Sevilla leading the charge, with logistics leasing of 138,800 m2, 58,800 m2 and 42,000 m2, respectively.

According to Alberto Larrazábal, National Director of Industrial and Logistics at CBRE, “cities such as Valencia, Zaragoza and Málaga blame the lack of available land dedicated to the execution of new projects, which is making the search for new mega-plots imperative”.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Montepino Invests €85M in New Logistics Centre in Guadalajara

27 September 2018 – Eje Prime

Montepino is adding logistics space to its portfolio. The Aragón-based operator has invested €85 million in the construction of an industrial complex with a surface area of 89,000 m2, located on the Puerta Centro industrial estate in Guadalajara.

The project, to be carried out by Montepino and operated by Luís Simões, constitutes three warehouses measuring 31,158 m2 (an automatic warehouse installed by the company Consoveyo), 29,083 m2 and 28,650 m2, respectively. Construction of the buildings is expected to be completed within a period of nine months and they will be handed over in two phases.

The complex is designed to have capacity for 178,000 pallets and the facilities will be adapted to the logistics business of e-commerce, a service that will be carried out in a space measuring 5,350 m2. The site will also have green areas and parking for more than 800 vehicles.

With this operation, Montepino has invested in one of the main logistics hubs on the Peninsula, the Puerta Centro industrial estate in Guadalajara. It is one of the most important strategic areas in the country for major domestic and international operators thanks to its direct connection to the A-2 motorway, the Corredor del Henares and Madrid, amongst others.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Logistics: Real Estate’s Ugly Duckling Sees its Investment Figures Soar

30 September 2018 – El Confidencial

It has always been the ugly duckling of the real estate sector. Nevertheless, the boom in e-commerce, the positive evolution of consumption and of the economy, in general, and real estate in particular, has triggered investment in these types of assets. For more than a year now, the sector has been starring in some of the most high-profile operations in the market, both at the corporate level, as well as in terms of the sale of portfolios and assets, attracting money from large international funds, as well as from domestic ones.

The data speaks for itself. Investment in logistics during the third quarter of 2018 – including plots of land – amounted to €450 million, equivalent to four times more than during the second quarter and 436% more than the figure registered during the same period a year earlier. That is according to data from the consultancy firm JLL, which shows that investment amounted to €872 million between January and September, 53% more the volume accumulated during the same period in 2017.

Moreover, the firm’s forecasts for the final stretch of the year for this sector are optimistic. “We expect the total volume to amount to €1.2 billion by the end of the year, 20% more than we expected last quarter, due to the good results and the fact that strong investor appetite is still alive”, said Borja Ortega, Director of Capital Markets at JLL.

“The logistics market is the absolute star of the real estate investment market in Spain. Investors see the potential associated with a market that has been growing for years”, says Ortega. Why? Its own fundamentals, the lack of product for investing in other segments such as offices and retail or the creation and consolidation of investors specialising in logistics”, he said.

In the last year and a half, the logistics sector has captured the media’s attention thanks to the completion of several very high profile operations. For example, on 25 September, Mango’s logistics platform in Barcelona was sold for €150 million. That asset, with a surface area of 181,000 m2 and owned by the Belgian investor group VG Partners since the end of 2016, was sold to the British Socimi Tritax Big Box.

It represented the largest investment in a single asset in the Spanish logistics market for the last four years since Logicor purchased some logistics facilities in Guadalajara spanning more than 320,000 m2 from Gran Europa for €133 million.

The operation also exceeded the €119 million that Blackstone paid in July to acquire the Socimi Lar’s logistics portfolio. In total, that deal involved 162,000 m2 of space spread over four logistics warehouses in Alovera (Guadalajara), one in the Juan Carlos I industrial estate of Almussafes (Valencia) and a plot for logistics development in Cheste (Valencia) spanning a further 182,000 m2.

Assets, portfolios, corporate operations

During the third quarter, there was a lot of movement in the sector such as the sale of two logistics portfolios – Hina Project with 6 warehouses and Gran Europa Portfolio with 3 warehouses – four purchases of logistics warehouses and a project comprising two plots in Cabanillas. Those transactions were accompanied by the purchase of two plots, one on the Centro —Ciudad del Transporte Industrial Estate in Guadalajara – and another in San Fernando de Henares. The latter was acquired by Merlin Properties for the construction of a logistics platform measuring 100,000 m2 (…).

All of these operations are happening in the midst of a genuine boom in e-commerce and online sales, a market in which the major online operators such as Amazon, Mercadona and Inditex have committed heavily. And for good reason, given that in 2017 alone, online sales moved more than €30 billion, according to data from the Spanish National Competition and Markets Commission (CNMC). And that figure is rising.

But the appetite of buyers is not only limited to the purchase of assets. At the corporate level, there have also been some significant transactions in recent months. A year ago, China Investment Corporation (CIC) completed the purchase of Logicor for €12.25 billion, one of the largest logistics companies in Europe and the largest owner of logistics assets in the Spanish market with a portfolio spanning more than 1 million m2 located primarily in Madrid and Barcelona. That operation became the second largest real estate purchase in history and the fourth largest by a Chinese company in Europe.

Meanwhile, P3 Spain Logistic Park, the logistics centre Socimi that the sovereign fund Singapore GIC owns in Spain, made its debut on the Alternative Investment Market (MAB) last year with eleven logistics centres that span a total surface area of 321,392 m2 and which are spread across five autonomous communities, although most are in Madrid and Castilla-La Mancha.

Even the Murcian businessman, Trinitario Casanova, through Grupo Baraka has backed the logistics sector. In February this year, he purchased a logistics-industrial use plot located in the municipality of Sant Esteve Sesrovires, in Barcelona.

A sector traditionally forgotten

“For years, the logistics sector has been one of the ‘great forgottens’ of the real estate sector. Nevertheless, today it is clearly a segment to which investors pay a lot of attention. (…). In fact, given the competitive pressure, it is the only sector where returns are continuing to fall. Prime returns at the end of the third quarter of 2018 amounted to 5.25%, making them lower than during the last upward cycle in 2006, when they amounted to 5.75%”, said Ortega.

On the other hand, unlike what has happened in other real estate sectors such as residential or offices, whose activity is concentrated in the major cities such as Madrid and Barcelona, 34% of logistics investment in the third quarter has been in Cataluña and 32% in Madrid. The rest has been concentrated in other regions such as Valencia (…).

Original story: El Confidencial (by E. Sanz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Montepino Invests €6M+ in a New Logistics Centre in Madrid

10 September 2018 – Eje Prime

Montepino is continuing to invest in the logistics sector in Madrid. The property developer has just finalised the construction of a logistics and innovation centre on the Alcobendas industrial estate, in which it has invested €6 million.

The space measures 6,300 m2, comprising a warehouse spanning 5,000 m2 and an adjoining building for offices. The plot, which will house the distribution operations for CooperVision on the peninsula, has a parking area spanning 16,000 m2, with capacity for 128 vehicles.

Montepino has led the design of the plans and the execution of the construction work, entrusted to the construction company MLN S.A. and completed within a period of six months. The project has been designed so that, in the future, the space may be extended by an additional 2,000 m2.

Several companies from the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector also have operations on the Alcobendas industrial estate, where this new logistics complex is located. The area is considered a strategic location in which many companies centralise their distribution operations for the rest of the peninsula.

Montepino will include this new asset in the portfolio of the recently created joint venture between the property developer and the manager CBRE Global Investors. Montepino’s objective is to expand and double the current value of its partnership through the completion, during the course of 2018 and 2019, of the more than 300,000 m2 of space currently has under construction, as well as the acquisition of new opportunities.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake