The Hunt for the Last Mile: 77% of Logistics Investors Bet on Urban Platforms

7 February 2019

Madrid and Barcelona are still the preferred markets for investments in the logistics sector, though there is growing interest in Valencia, Malaga and Zaragoza.

Get closer and reduce delivery times. The rise of e-commerce and the logistics for covering the last mile are bringing logistics platforms ever closer to urban centres. According to CBRE’s latest Survey on the evolution of the Spanish logistics sector, 77% of investors and logistics developers are already committed to urban logistics platforms to accelerate their capacity for rapid delivery and facilitate the constant flow of good to stores in the city centres.

Madrid and Barcelona are still the main logistics markets in Spain: the vast majority of investors surveyed, 96% and 81% respectively, opt for these two cities, although demand also extends to other cities. The best example is Valencia, which, with 77%, is gaining supporters as a logistics pole of growing interest. Other cities such as Malaga and Zaragoza are also registering an increase in demand.

CBRE bets on a slight increase in rental income in Barcelona

Investors are optimistic. 96% of respondents say they will continue buying assets in the coming months. All are betting on the logistics real estate sector, while 42% believe that it will also invest in the industrial sector. According to data from CBRE, the volume of investment in Spain during the past year reached 1.5 billion euros.

The report shows that there exist significant differences in opinion regarding future changes to rents in the sector. While 54% of investors believe that rents will rise in the main logistics markets, 42% believe that they will remain stable.

Concepción Mínguez, who analyses at Research, Industrial & Logistics at CBRE, believes that during the coming months “there will be minor increases in some areas where there is a shortage of available product, for example in Barcelona, ​​Zaragoza, Seville and Malaga.” Ms Mínguez added that, however, “rents in Madrid, with some exceptions, will remain stable due to a large number of speculative developments underway.”

Original Story: EjePrime

Translation: Richard Turner