Merlin Buys Several Logistics Warehouses for €78.6M

10 September 2018 – Expansión

According to a statement issued by Merlin, the recent acquisitions made by the Socimi – since July – will add an estimated rental income of €6 million p.a. to the asset portfolio, with a gross estimated yield of 7.6%.

In Cabanillas (Guadalajara), Merlin has acquired a logistics warehouse spanning 15,075 m2, which is leased in its entirety to Jaguar Land Rover under a 10-year contract, with a gross yield of 6.2%.

Moreover, also in Cabanillas, Merlin is going to start construction work on two logistics warehouses spanning 42,500 m2 with an estimated gross yield of 7.7%.

In Vitoria, on the Júndiz industrial estate, Merlin has acquired two logistics warehouses, which span 26,775 m2 and are leased to DHL under a supply contract with Mercedes-Benz, and which have a gross yield of 7.5%.

The company has also signed a turnkey project for a warehouse spanning 35,282 m2 on an industrial estate in Ribarroja, with connections to the A3 and A7 motorways, close to Valencia. The delivery of the warehouse is scheduled for the middle of 2019, with an estimated gross yield of 7.2%.

Other Merlin projects include the start of a “built-to-suit” site and a speculative project in the ZAL of Sevilla, with a gross surface area of almost 18,500 m2 and an estimated gross yield of 9.9%.

Original story: Expansión 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Pavasal to Build 175,000m2 of Logistics Space in Valencia, Madrid & Barcelona

14 June 2018 – Eje Prime

Pavasal is taking advantage of the good times in the logistics sector embark on its growth strategy. The Valencian construction firm is adding almost 175,000 m2 of surface area to the logistics market in three large operations in Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia. Last week, the group signed an agreement with the engineering firm Aspor to develop 35,000 m2 of land in Ribarroja.

Besides the complex in Valencia, Pavasal is also immersed in two more projects with the fund Invesco for the development of logistics land in Madrid and Barcelona. In the Spanish capital, the group is going to build a 90,000 m2 logistics park, which will involve an investment of €80 million, whilst in Cataluña, the company is finalising the hand over of a large platform measuring 49,500 m2 in Abrera (Barcelona).

The project in Madrid will result in the construction of the logistics complex with the largest available surface area in the Spanish capital. Last year, the sector invested €1.5 billion in assets, a historical maximum, and experts expect similar numbers to be recorded in 2018.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Ribarroja’s Logistics Stock Grows by 13,200m2

16 May 2018 – Eje Prime

The logistics market is continuing to grow in Valencia. The stock in the Ribarroja logistics area has grown with the incorporation of a new platform measuring 13,200 m2 built at risk. The plot where the warehouse is located, which is owned by a family office, has a surface area of 18,400 m2.

TPF Consultora has contributed to the project by performing both the market study and the conceptualisation of the product. It also prepared the marketing material and rental price for the property, according to Valencia News. On the other hand, Aspor signed off the plans and managed the construction work.

The constructed product is a logistics platform divisible into three modules with storage space of approximately 4,200 m2 each, and a ratio of loading docks that has been adapted to logistics use and the manoeuvre yard.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

CBRE: Logistics Investment in Valencia Doubled to €60M+ in 2017

18 April 2018 – Las Provincias

The logistics business in the Community of Valencia skyrocketed last year. Logistics investment in Valencia doubled to exceed €60 million in 2017. The increase was driven primarily by large operations such as the purchase by TH Real Estate of Carrefour’s platform in Ribarroja and the acquisition by P3 Logistics of another platform that had formed part of GreenOak’s logistics portfolio.

That is according to a report compiled by the real estate consultancy CBRE, which places Valencia behind Madrid and Barcelona in the ranking of cities based on interest from funds in investing in logistics. On the other hand, leasing of logistics space also reached a new record in Valencia in 2017 with more than 220,000 m2 of space transacted.

The study reports that the logistics stock in Valencia amounts to 2,244,000 m2, of which just 20% may be considered as prime or maximum quality product. This increase is due both to the construction of new logistics warehouses and the renovation and adaptation of old industrial warehouses for this new use.

Lack of supply

Despite the delivery of more than 65,000 m2 of newly-built logistics warehouses, the availability rate decreased to 4.3% in 2017. The data shows the increase in demand for large spaces (measuring more than 10,000 m2, which accounted for 50% of the space leased last year). By area, the region to the north of Valencia accounts for the highest percentage of available industrial space with 13,200 m2 (6.4%), followed by the central area with 53,100 m2 (9.7%) and finally the south with 30,500 m2 (5.1%).

Ribarroja is still the most sought-after area with the highest leasing volumes. In fact, 15 of the 27 operations recorded in 2017, which together saw 125,000 m2 of the surface area contracted and which represented 60% of the total space leased (were located there). The continuous increase in demand and the scarce supply of quality products has caused prime rents to increase by 25% to €51/m2/year.

The centre of Valencia saw the highest price rises for both land, between €150/m2 and 225/m2, and rent, between €3/m2/month and €4.25/m2/month. The north and south regions recorded similar rental prices, between €2.75/m2/month and €3.90/m2/month, although the southern region was slightly more expensive than the north with prices of around €200/m2.

Original story: Las Provincias (by Á. Mohorte)

Translation: Carmel Drake

‘Improving Logistics’ Leases 30,000 m2 of Space in Ribarroja

20 March 2018 – Eje Prime

The largest logistics operator in Valencia has moved into the most sought-after industrial estate in the Mediterranean city. ‘Improving Logistics’ has installed itself in Ribarroja with 30,000 m2 of logistics space, after signing up to lease three warehouses in the complex.

With assets measuring 14,000 m2, 9,000 m2 and 7,000 m2, respectively, ‘Improving’ is seeking to continue with its growth plan in the multi-customer logistics segment. The Valencian operator already occupies a surface area of more than 110,000 m2 in the province.

On the El Oliveral Industrial Estate, the company has leased a logistics warehouse spanning 7,000 m2 and a logistics platform with a constructed surface area of 14,000 m2, whilst the other warehouse it has leased is located on the Sector 14 industrial estate, also in the town of Ribarroja.

‘Improving’ has grown by up to 60% in recent years, which has pushed it up the ranking of the main logistics operators in Valencia. Created in 2003, the company operates at the international level, rendering services ranging from storage, customs warehousing, sea and land transportation, and real-time management of logistics processes.

Last year, the industrial park in Ribarroja accounted for 80% of all of the investments made by the sector in the metropolitan area of Valencia. There, Mercadona signed one of the largest purchases of logistics spaces in the autonomous region, with the acquisition of more than 23,700 m2 of land. In total, 107,000 m2 of space was purchased on this industrial estate in a dozen operations, according to a report compiled by BNP Paribas Real Estate.

With this new operation, Valencia is also consolidating its position as one of the regions of the country with the highest volume of logistics space leased. In 2017, the autonomous region saw a record 220,000 m2 of space leased, and now it is starting to experience problems in terms of a shortage of prime assets, with an average availability rate of 4.3%.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Knight Frank: Inv’t in Logistics Will Amount to €1.2bn in 2017

4 December 2017 – Eje Prime

The Spanish logistics sector is on the right track as the industry approaches the centres of the country’s largest cities. The new methods of consumption, which demand greater speed when it comes to receiving a product and the increase in the volume of online purchases, has led to a rise in the leasing of logistics land in Spain, in particular in the regional capitals. During the nine months to September, investment in the market amounted to €550 million and that figure is forecast to reach €1.2 billion before the end of the year.

Spain’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is growing at a rate of 3% p.a., and the index is not escaping the gaze of international investors, who are placing their trust in the country. This has been demonstrated by the largest logistics operation recorded so far this year involving P3 Logistics Parks, the developer controlled by the sovereign fund of Singapur GIC, which paid €243 million for GreenOak’s logistics portfolio in April, according to a report from the consultancy firm Knight Frank.

In addition to Madrid and Barcelona, several other large regional capitals have benefitted from the investments made in the purchase of industrial land on the outskirts of cities. Such is the case of Valencia, in the adjoining town of Ribarroja, where the largest operation was signed during the third quarter of the year. There, TH Real Estate acquired a Carrefour logistics platform measuring 55,000 m2, on a plot with a surface area spanning 87,000 m2.

Focusing on the Community of Madrid, the report points out that the absorption of logistics space has soared this year. The figures for the third quarter of the year, when 675,000 m2 of space was leased, exceed the surface area recorded during the whole of 2016 in the Spanish region. The international consultancy firm forecasts that Madrid will close the year with absorbed logistics surface area of around 800,000 m2.

The large deals notably drove the increase in the surface area leased in the country. Seven of the transactions signed in the sector during 2017 involved assets spanning more than 40,000 m2.

Prime yields, on the rise in Madrid and Barcelona 

In a survey of international investors conducted by Knight Frank, 51% of those questioned chose industrial and logistics assets as their preferred asset type for investment over the next five years. This investor appetite has led to an increase in the price of Spanish industrial land. Prices in the logistics market are on the rise, although yields are remaining stable.

In the market for logistics assets in Madrid, prime rents amount to around €5.25/m2. The forecasts indicate that the increase in demand and the improvement in the quality of new logistics facilities will lead to an average annual increase in rental prices in the region of around 3%.

Meanwhile, in Barcelona, the price of prime logistics land is even more expensive at around €6.85/m2. If we look at a map of Europe, the Catalan capital is the seventh most expensive city, and the most expensive, by far, in the south of the continent. In this sense, Barcelona, where land is already more expensive than it is in Frankfurt (€6.65/m2), is only exceeded by Amsterdam (€7.10/m2), Munich (€7.10/m2), Dublin (€8.15/m2), Helsinki (€10/m2), Geneva (€14.55) and London (€15.25/m2).

Original story: Eje Prime (by Jabier Izquierdo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Aguirre Newman: Almost 1 million m2 of Logistics Space Leased in Madrid & Barcelona YTD

21 November 2017 – El Inmobiliario Mes a Mes

In total, 929,698 m2 of logistics space was leased in Madrid and Barcelona during the first three quarters of 2017, up by 22.6% compared to the same period in 2016, whilst the volume of investment in logistics assets reached €600 million. That figure represents 76% of the total recorded last year, which marked a historical maximum investment volume in Spain, according to Aguirre Newman.

During the third quarter of 2017, the high level of investor interest in logistics assets, which started four years ago, continued to flourish. It was boosted by factors such as the consolidation of economic growth, the gradual improvement in household consumption, rising rental prices in the main markets and improvements in financing conditions.

The initial rate of return for the most prime assets in the best locations amounted to around 6%, and rates of around 5.5% were seen for certain one-off operations. According to the report from Aguirre Newman, the scarce supply in the main logistics markets in Madrid and Barcelona is affecting the market in two ways. On the one hand, interest in secondary markets is continuing to rise, most notably in Zaragoza, Valencia and Sevilla. On the other hand, there is a high degree of interest in buying land, either to develop speculative projects or to build turnkey projects, under forward funding or forward purchasing formats.

Demand for logistics space in Madrid during the third quarter of the year reached 226,757 m2, compared to the total cumulative space leased in 2017 of 614,070 m2. That figure represents an increase of 52% with respect to the same period last year. Both the activity recorded during the third quarter – which is closely related to e-commerce – as well as that registered during the year to date represent record levels never seen before, and so the report forecasts that the end of 2017 will also be very positive in light of the operations currently underway.

The most significant operation in terms of the volume of surface area leased in the third quarter was completed in Illescas (Toledo), where an operation involving a turnkey project with a surface area of 103,000 m2 was signed. That was followed by another operation closed by Leroy Merlin in Meco with a surface area of 59,914 m2. In terms of rental income, the maximum recorded was €4.85/m2/month, as a result of an operation closed in the Corredor del Henares, specifically in San Fernando de Henares.

According to Aguirre Newman’s research, activity in the market for land dedicated to logistics/industrial use has grown considerably with respect to previous quarters, with the completion of seven operations spanning a combined surface area of 379,096 m2, destined for both turnkey and at-risk projects. The most significant land operation was the purchase of a plot measuring 242,000 m2 in Illescas (Toledo) for the development of the aforementioned logistics platform (103,000 m2).

On the other hand, the leasing of logistics space in Barcelona amounted to 91,406 m2 during the third quarter, which represents a slight decrease of 9% compared to the same period in 2016. Meanwhile, the total surface area leased during the first nine months of 2017 amounted to 315,628 m2.

Vallès Oriental and Barcelonès were the most active regions in terms of the number of operations, where three and two operations were closed, respectively. In terms of the largest operations closed, a contract was signed in Alt Penedès for a space spanning 20,000 m2 and in Vallès Oriental, another contract was signed for a space measuring 14,000 m2. Prime rents continued at their levels of between €5.75/m2/month and €6.75/m2/month. Nevertheless, the report from Aguirre Newman highlights that one operation was closed in the Zona Franca Consortium with a rental price above the prime rate indicated.

Leasing of logistics space soars in Valencia

Moreover, during the first nine months of the year in the Valencia metropolitan area, 135,250 m2 of logistics space was leased. That figure represents an increase of 35% with respect to the same period a year earlier, according to BNP Paribas Real Estate.

In that region, demand focused primarily on the town of Ribarroja, which accounts for 80% of the surface area leased (…).

Original story: El Inmobiliario Mes a Mes

Translation: Carmel Drake

TH Real Estate Buys Carrefour Logistics Platform In Ribarroja

26 September 2017 – Aedecc.com

Quick Expansión has advised the sale of a logistics platform occupied by Carrefour in Ribarroja (Valencia). TH Real Estate is the purchaser and Carrefour is the tenant of this platform, which has a constructed surface area of more than 55,000 m2.

The asset, which has a constructed surface area of more than 55,000 m2, houses Carrefour’s logistics platform in Levante. In total, the plot has a surface area of 87,000 m2.

The sales process sparked interest from several of the largest funds, Socimis and investors in Spain, whereby demonstrating the quality of the asset, the extent of investors’ appetite and the interest from investors in high-quality real estate assets in good locations.

Original story: Aedecc.com

Translation: Carmel Drake

Meridia Buys A Logistics Centre In Ribarroja For €8.6M

23 February 2016 – Expansión

The fund has been given the green light by both the judge and Sareb after it submitted an offer for the 27,400 m2 logistics platform, which was constructed by Mafort and Bancaja, and which had an appraisal value of €15.7 million.

The large funds and Socimis are continuing their hunt for industrial assets to rent out…at bargain prices. The logistics centre that the property developer Mafort and Bancaja jointly developed in Ribarroja now has a new owner, in the form of the real estate fund manager Meridia Iberian Real Estate.

The fund has made an offer of €8.65 million for the property, which has been approved by the judge who is overseeing the bankruptcy proceedings of the (property development) company.

In addition, the fund has managed to obtain the approval of the owner of the mortgages, Sareb, which inherited the financing that Bancaja granted back in the day – which was then taken over by Bankia. Although formally, a ten-day window has been opened, during which time any interested party may submit a higher bid, all indications show that Meridia will become the new owner of this platform, given that it has already reached an agreement with Sareb.

Original story: Expansión (by A.C.A)

Translation: Carmel Drake