Tag: warehouses

Grupo Lar Purchases 36,000 m2 of Logistics Land in Valencia

17 December 2018 – Eje Prime

Grupo Lar is starting to expand in the Spanish logistics sector. The company has completed the purchase of 36,000 m2 of logistics land in the municipality of Quart de Poblet, in Valencia with the aim of constructing two warehouses and an additional block of offices.

The two logistics centres will have surface areas of 5,000 m2 and 17,000 m2, respectively. Meanwhile, the office building will span approximately 1,300 m2. The building work is expected to start during the second quarter of 2019 and finish during the first quarter of 2020.

The land is located close to the Riba-roja logistics hub, 15km from Valencia and 10km from the Manises airport. Moreover, its proximity to the city’s main arteries gives it a privileged position when it comes to moving goods.

Currently, Grupo Lar is working on an expansion plan for its logistics platform with Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Málaga, Sevilla and País Vasco all in the spotlight. The company plans to invest €250 million between now and 2021 in the acquisition of 500,000 m2 of industrial land.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Savills: Logistics Investment in Spain to Grow by 40% in 2018

20 November 2018 – Expansión

Real estate investment in the logistics market is on the verge of breaking a new record. According to data from the consultancy firm Savills Aguirre Newman, investment in the segment is going to exceed €1.2 billion in 2018, which will represent growth of 40% compared to the €854 million registered last year.

During the first nine months of this year alone, investment exceeded €875 million, without taking into account any corporate operations, which represents a 3% increase with respect to the total volume recorded during the whole of 2017.

“The intense level of activity at the national level in the market for land, by both funds and by end users, is going to continue until the end of the year”, explained sources at Savills Aguirre Newman.

In this sense, although the most sought-after product in the investment market is still the highest-quality and best-positioned warehouses, investors are also analysing spaces with the potential to be transformed and the capacity to offer higher returns.

Product shortage

Sources at the consultancy firm explain that, in light of the shortage of products in Madrid and Barcelona, the secondary markets have become a focus of attention for investors. Similarly, the scarcity in terms of finished products has reactivated interest in the market for land.

In terms of the volume of space leased, 1,127,000 m2 was snapped up in the markets in Madrid and Barcelona to September, which represents an increase of 22% with respect to the same period in 2017.

Original story: Expansión (by R.A.)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Gazeley Purchases a 75,000 m2 Industrial Plot in Toledo

19 October 2018 – Eje Prime

Gazeley has returned to the Spanish market. The logistics warehouse and distribution park investor and developer group has acquired a 75,000 m2 plot in the Toledo town of Illescas on which it will build a 36,000 m2 warehouse. The company is planning to complete the project in 2019.

Moreover, the company has opened new offices in Madrid. Oscar Heras, Construction Director at Gazeley, will assume the role of Director of the subsidiary Gazeley España, which, until now, has stayed away from Spanish real estate activity after selling all of its assets in the country in 2016.

Then, the company was going through a bad time: it had accumulated more than 1.5 million m2 in more than a dozen platforms. Moreover, that same year, the Spanish subsidiary recorded a net profit of more than €16 million, which it used to offset losses from previous years, exceeding €11 million.

Now they are back, because, according to Heras, “it is a time when there is more demand for logistics warehouses than ever”. The company’s intention is to continue growing in Spain.

In Europe, Gazeley has a portfolio of assets spanning 17 million m2, concentrated in the United Kingdom, Germany, France and the Netherlands and leased (96%) to clients such as Amazon, UPS and Volkswagen. The company forms part of the GLP group, which is listed on the Singapore stock market, with more than $50 billion in assets under management.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Forcadell: 486,946 m2 of Logistics Space Leased in Cataluña in First 9 Months

10 October 2018 – Eje Prime

The Catalan logistics sector is seeing its figures soar. With three months still to go before the end of the year, the industrial segment of the real estate sector has already exceeded the total volume of space leased in all of 2017, with 486,946 m2 leased during the first nine months of 2018, according to data from the real estate consultancy Forcadell.

The report from the Catalan consultant points out that during the third quarter of 2018, 99,557 m2 of logistics space was leased, up by 28% YoY. That figure means that the leasing volume to date exceeds the figure recorded by Forcadell at the end of last year (459,451 m2).

The second ring of Barcelona is leading the increase in the Catalan logistics sector, accounting for 47% of the operations signed during the third quarter.  In total, seven operations were registered in this area between June and September, with 50,341 m2 of industrial land leased.

The second ring was followed by the first ring, which accounted for 40% of operations and a total leasing volume of 43,216 m2. The third, with some plots located in the province of Tarragona, accounted for 13% of the transactions in this market in Cataluña.

The Director of Industrial and Logistics at Forcadell, Gerard Plana, said that “new construction projects are continuing to offset the lack of available supply”. Seven of the fifteen operations that were completed during the third quarter in Cataluña involved new build or turnkey assets.

In terms of the largest operations signed during that period, they included Henkel’s new 24,000 m2 warehouse in Montornès del Vallès and the 10,520 m2 warehouse that Mercadona leased from Goodman in Barcelona’s Zona Franca area.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

M&G Invests €80M to Strengthen its RE Portfolio

29 May 2018 – Expansión

The real estate division of the London-based firm M&G Investment has decided to bet significantly on the Iberian market, where its exposure now exceeds €500 million. “We are partners of institutional investors looking for core properties in the best locations across Europe. We opened our office in Spain in 2016, but we completed our first operations there a year earlier”, explains Federico Bros, Director of Asset Management for Spain and Portugal.

Its first operation involved the purchase of the former headquarters of Telefónica located on Calle Ríos Rosas (Madrid) and leased to the advertising giant WPP. “It is an example of what we look for, well-located assets with long-term contracts, 17 years in this case. Between the renovation and purchase we will invest €175 million in that property”, says Bros.

After that acquisition came others, such as an office building in Barcelona’s 22@ district and, recently, five operations with a very diverse profile. On the one hand, M&G purchased three commercial assets: two in Madrid and one in Granada. “The premise in Granada, measuring 2,500 m2, is located on Reyes Católicos, the best shopping street in the city”, explains Bros. In the case of Madrid, M&G acquired two retail premises on Gran Vía 68. “We closed this operation in May but we have been negotiating it for months, given that the building was being renovated. A few months ago, a large Tony Roma’s restaurant opened there and Sabadell is going to open its flagship branch in the other premise in a matter of days”, he said.

Similarly, the firm acquired two industrial assets in Madrid, specifically a logistics platform, leased to Teka, in the Corredor del Henares, and another complex in Getafe. Those two sites span more than 55,000 m2. In total, the firm has invested €80 million on its latest operations, channelled through two funds: MEP and EuroSPIF.

More opportunities

Following these investments, the manager is still looking for opportunities in the Spanish market.

“We are involved in several processes, both official and off-market, in Madrid, Barcelona and prime locations in other cities. Spain is a priority country for us”, says Bros.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

German Logistics Giant Hansainvest Set to Invest €300M in Southern Europe

29 May 2018 – Eje Prime

The logistics business is looking to Spain to grow. The giant Hansainvest is preparing to carry out an offensive in the logistics sector in Europe and is planning an investment of between €200 million and €300 million in the logistics sector in markets such as Spain, the UK, Germany and France, according to explanations provided by the company. Its interest in Spain would represent the group’s entry into the country.

The group, which has just appointed Philipp Middendorp to lead the group’s logistics business, is going to start a new round of logistics assets purchases between now and the end of 2019 as part of its growth strategy. In addition to Southern Europe, the company is also going to focus on the Nordic countries and Poland.

According to the company, its wish list includes acquiring core and core plus properties, although “it will also look at possible alternative uses of properties”, explain sources at Hansainvest. “We intend to mainly buy traditional logistics assets, but we will also focus on the acquisition of projects under development”, they add.

“There is a great deal of demand for logistics assets from players in the domestic and international markets. The only way to keep making attractive investments in this context is to broaden our market approach”, they say.

The German logistics group’s asset portfolio comprises residential properties, as well as office buildings. The company also has buildings such as hotels, retail spaces and logistics assets, which is a business that it has decided to develop more over the coming months. In total, Hansainvest manages an asset portfolio worth more than €4.3 billion in 18 countries.

Lack of supply

Hansainvest is going to have to undertake a detailed study of the Spanish market and not let escape any opportunities that arise, given that one of the problems facing this business in the Spanish market is the lack of supply. This means that overall investment in the sector is going to fall by 20% in 2018, although it will still exceed €1 billion, according to a report from the real estate consultancy CBRE.

Leasing is also going to be a problem this year. In Madrid and Barcelona alone, absorption is going to decrease from more than 1.5 million m2 recorded last year to just over 1.2 million m2 this year.

The product shortage is going to lead to the generation of new, but insufficient supply in the two major capitals in 2018. In Madrid, 500,000 m2 of new space ix expected to come onto the market this year, compared with 342,000 m2 in Barcelona.

Nevertheless, cities on the rise in recent years in the logistics market such as Zaragoza, Sevilla and Valencia have minimal supply (…).

Rents on the rise

Of course, the high demand, limited supply and poor outlook for new developments are inevitably leading to an increase in rental prices. That is what happened in 2017, with growth of 5% in Madrid and Barcelona, and in 2018, prices may rise by even more. CBRE’s report points to increases of approximately 7% in the cost of prime assets in Madrid, where prices will reach an average of €5.60/m2/month.

In Barcelona, one of the most expensive cities in Europe in terms of logistics rents, the rental of high-quality warehouses could cost as much as €6.75/m2/month this year, up by 4% compared to 2017.

Original story: Eje Prime (by C. Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Aena Kicks Off Spain’s Largest RE Project with Public-Private Investment of €3bn

24 April 2018 – El Confidencial

Aena has fired the starting gun for the largest real estate development plan in Spain, equivalent to four times Operación Chamartín or ten times the Retiro Park. It is the Real Estate Plan for the Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport, which will involve a combined public-private investment of €2.997 billion.

This project, which Aena has been working on since before its stock market debut, proposes the development of 562 hectares of new land, which would allow it to place a buildable surface area of 2.68 million m2 on the market over the next 40 years.

The bulk of the land will be allocated to the development of the largest logistics centre in Spain, which will link the airport’s current cargo loading area with the Corredor del Henares, one of the main logistics regions in the country.

The land allocated to this use will span 257 hectares in total and 1.48 million m2 of buildable surface area, most of which will be developed over the next eight years, and which will mean multiplying the space in the airport dedicated to this use by ten-fold.

The rapid growth of e-commerce and the need from giants such as Amazon and Correos to have large warehouses next to Spain’s largest airport, and the gates of Madrid, are behind the business logic for this move, given that Aena is not planning to build any homes in the area.

In this way, this part of the development will be configured into parks with integrated logistics and transport services, as well as loading warehouses and distribution stores; its main objective will be to serve companies in the electronics, biopharma and perishable product businesses, amongst others. Over the next eight years, the second phase of the plan will begin, aimed at completing the logistics uses and, above all, building a new business centre, known as Airport City, to house the headquarters of large companies such as Aena itself and its parent company, Enaire, as well as four hotels that will add 900 rooms to the existing supply in Madrid.

The total surface area reserved for those uses is 62 hectares, with a forecast buildable surface area of 652,000 m2, 90% of which will be dedicated to offices.

These buildings will be located in an area adjacent to T4, which has already been pre-urbanised and which will have pedestrian access to the terminal, and which will also be connected by public transport (metro, suburban train and bus).

There will also be a leisure and shopping centre, covering a total surface area of 57 hectares and a total forecast buildable surface area of 341,000 m2, plus 298,000 m2 of green space.

Aena hopes to turn this leisure space into a magnet in its own right and, to this end, it plans to open a themed recreation area, a shopping centre, a gastronomic space, wellness areas, an aeronautical museum and panoramic observatories.

“It is an ambitious but realistic plan that is perfectly feasible”, said the Minister for Development, Iñigo de la Serna, during the presentation of the plan this morning, where he also pointed out that the urban planning procedures for these plots of land will be agile.

The plots that form part of this plan will be developed under a concession regime, given that Aena will continue to be the owner. All indications are that at its next meeting, the company’s Board of Directors, chaired by Jaime García-Legaz, will formally initiate this process.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Ruth Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Spain’s Logistics Crowns: From Madrid’s M-40 to the Port of Barcelona

24 April 2018 – Eje Prime

Madrid and Barcelona are the kings of Spain and their crowns attest to that fact. The two largest cities in the country are surrounded by three rings that, in addition to accounting for most of the country’s logistics traffic, provide clear answers to the three main questions being asked in the sector: what, how many and how are products demanded. The first ring is a testament to the strength of last mile delivery driven by e-commerce; in the second ring, a large proportion of products are stored on rotation; however,  the third ring, where the largest warehouses are located, saw the most space leased last year.

In general terms, 2017 was a record year for the logistics markets in Madrid and Barcelona. Together, both cities signed rental operations for space spanning more than 1.2 million m2, which represented an increase of 12% with respect to the figure from the previous year and the best result in the last decade, according to the Logistics – The revolution of a booming market report, compiled by the consultancy firm JLL.

The reasons for this boom in terms of transport and storage stem from the strong performance of the Spanish economy and, more specifically, the boom in e-commerce, which is starting to change the way the logistics market operates, in the knowledge that, over the next few years, demand for urban space to handle online purchases is going to double.

Madrid was the Spanish city that saw most evidence of the strong performance of the sector last year. In the county’s capital, 800,000 m2 of logistics space was leased in 2017, with 64 operations signed (21 more than in the previous year), twice as much as in 2016. This increase in the absorption of space was spread across the three rings that surround the autonomous region and the neighbouring provinces of the adjacent region of Castilla-La Mancha.

In the first ring, the M-40 and the M-50 account for most of the activity, with a high rotation of stock due to the last mile effect. In that enclave, towns such as Alcobendas, Barajas (with high demand due to its proximity to the airport), Coslada, San Sebastián de los Reyes and San Fernando de Henares all stand out. In addition, in this area, but closer to the capital, Vicálvaro and Getafe to the north and south, respectively, are also key locations.

The M-50 is in an intermediate point, which on its way out of Madrid has important places for storage and logistics distribution. With an average rotation rate, a large number of the warehouses whose markets have a regional reach are located in Fuenlabrada, Valdemoro, Alcalá de Henares and Torrejón de Ardoz, amongst other towns.

Amazon, from Toledo to the centre of Madrid

For buyers in the centre of Madrid to receive packages purchased on Amazon in a matter of hours, the second ring is fundamental. The e-commerce giant has set up shop in the Toledan town of Illescas, where it leased 103,000 m2 of space to store the immense volume of stock that it must have available for rapid distribution all over the Spanish capital.

Nevertheless, the ring that absorbs even more space of the so-called central area of the country is the third ring, accounting for 39% of the surface area leased last year. There, Leroy Merlin leased 60,000 m2 of space, after moving into the Meco Industrial Estate. At a distance of between 30km and 60km from Madrid, large warehouses serve as storage for operators who have lower stock rotation and an area of influence that normally spans the domestic sphere. In addition to Meco, in this space, towns such as Azuqueca de Henares, Seseña, Alovera and Ontígola stand out, amongst others.

The Port and El Prat: the key points in Cataluña’s logistics market

In Barcelona, the epicentre of the logistics centre is divided in two: the Port and El Prat. Both are located in the first ring of the Catalan capital and serve as hubs for intermodal and high stock rotation operations, according to the report from JLL. The international consultancy firm explains that this ring is the gateway to southern Europe for goods coming from the Far East and Southeast Asia, which means covering the whole Mediterranean Arc from this point.

There, cross-docking and freight activities that facilitate last mile delivery dominate. The Zona Franca and its logistics park, the air cargo centre at El Prat, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Viladecans and Mas Blau are some of the enclaves that are home to the first ring market.

Nevertheless, and despite the e-commerce boom, it was in the second ring around Barcelona where most logistics space was leased last year. That area was home to 55% of the 460,000 m2 total surface area leased in the Catalan capital, which represented a drop of 30% with respect to 2016.

Original story: Eje Prime (by Jabier Izquierdo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

BNP Paribas: Logistics Leasing Rose by 48% in Cataluña in Q1

20 April 2018 – Eje Prime

The leasing of logistics space in Cataluña rebounded by 48% during the first quarter of 2018 with respect to the same period a year earlier, to amount to 185,890 m2, according to a report compiled by the Research Department at BNP Paribas Real Estate. The leasing figure is 40% higher than the quarterly average for the last three years, during a period of consolidation in the Catalan logistics market.

A large proportion of the surface area leased during the first quarter of the year saw the pre-rental of warehouses under construction and turnkey projects. In this sense, operations involving surface areas ranging from 7,000 m2 to 50,000 m2 stood out in particular.

Rental prices continued to rise and prime rents increased by 3%, to reach €6.5/m2/month. The good pace of logistics leasing indicates that the upward trend will continue over the next few quarters. In terms of average rents in the local, regional and national logistics corridors, the same behaviour is being observed in terms of rising prices and a decrease in shortages, with growth of 5% in annual terms, to reach €4.7/m2/month.

On the other hand, the availability rate of logistics space in Cataluña continued to fall to reach 2.8%, at the same time as construction activity was increasing due to demand for rental properties. The development of turnkey projects means that the available surface area has not been affected, remaining at very low levels.

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