The contracting of warehouses and logistic platforms grows a 50% in Catalonia during the first quarter

• The contracting of logistic space in Catalonia has exceeded 187,000 m²
• This figure represents a 73% more than the quarterly mean for the past five years

For the big commercial groups, the exponential growth of the electronic commerce implies the constant expansion of their logistic infrastructures. As a consequence, the contracting of warehouses and logistic platforms in Catalonia has again skyrocketed up to record levels of growth and contracting.

This situation has made real estate agencies to promote new warehousing, while investors position themselves attracted by the rise of rents, which are between 6.5 and 6.75 €/m² per month in Barcelona’s best areas -an 8% rise compared to the same period last year.

This is the reality described by several reports from the real estate consultancy firms Savills Aguirre Newman, Cushman & Wakefield and CBRE, which have been made public lately. In particular, they have noted that contracting of warehouses and logistic platforms in Catalonia has grown a 50% in comparison to the same period last year. Moreover, Cushman & Wakefield highlights that contracting during the first three months of 2018 exceeds by 73% the quarterly mean for the past five years.

In total, the contracting of logistic space in Catalonia exceeded 187,000 m² during the first quarter of the year, with 18 operations. This represents a 38% more than during the same period last year, according to Savills AN, and includes high activity coming from the investment funds. Among the most prominent operations of the quarter are the renting of a 49,000 m² logistic warehouse in Abrera, owned by Invesco, to a logistic operator from the automotive sector; and Mercadona’s renting of 29.000 m² at the industrial estate of Can Margarit at Sant Esteve Sesrovires, owned by the British fund Rockspring.

Finally, it should be highlighted that from the operations closed during the first quarter, according to Cushman & Wakefield, 44% correspond to Barcelona and the area of Baix Llobregat; 38%, to the area of Vallès; and the remaining 18%, to Camp de Tarragona, Penedès and Girona.

 [04/20/2018]