After the pandemic did not excessively affect the logistics sector in 2020, hiring forecasts for this year are optimistic. A total of 388,410 square meters will be incorporated into the market, and more than 67% of this area has already been pre-leased, concentrating in Barcelona, both in its first ring and in the center, where three projects will be delivered in the ZAL Port Barcelona. Likewise, of the new logistics space incorporated in 2020, a total of 430,627 square meters, 84%, has already been contracted.
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"Catalonia's attractiveness remains strong for both national and international operators and investors," explains Gloria Valverde, director of the Industry and Logistics department at Savills Aguirre Newman Barcelona. "The sector has been reactivating, and proof that demand remains active is that we have improved the number of transactions compared to the previous year, and contracting remains at high levels," she adds.
In fact, a total of 68 transactions of warehouses and logistics spaces were closed during 2020, while this figure was 61 during 2019. On the other hand, the contracted area reached 423,510 square meters compared to 601,521 in 2019, a decrease in absorption levels influenced by the confinement period, as Valverde points out.
Last year was also a good year for transactions over 20,000 square meters, known as Big Box, carried out by Lidl, ID Logístic, Katoen, and Amazon, surpassing the three that were done in 2019.
The lack of land continues to be one of the main problems for the logistics sector: available stock stands at 3% throughout Catalonia and in the central area and first ring of Barcelona it only reaches 1.5%. Given the scarcity of product, rents have remained stable. "There is an unsatisfied demand due to the difficulty of meeting it due to the lack of available product and surface area according to their needs," warns Valverde.