The boom in e-commerce and the interest that Barcelona and its area of influence continue to awaken among real estate investors drove up investment and contracting in logistics spaces throughout Catalonia last year. Specifically, the demand for warehouses for online shopping platforms accounted for one third (31%) of total contracting.
Demand has been so high that the sector has registered record annual figures. Specifically, 2021 closed with an investment of 352 million euros, 55% more than the previous year. In parallel, the contracting of 912,000 square meters represents a growth of 118% compared to 2020 and 54% in relation to 2019, according to data from the real estate consultancy CBRE. 57% of the operations carried out have been closed turnkey or by pre-lease contract.
The high demand and the lack of available land has strained prices, with increases of up to 7% in the prime rent, which averaged 7.5 euros per square meter per month for the whole of the Catalan territory. In fact, operations have been carried out based on the availability of land and spaces: in the first ring of Barcelona, availability is only 2.3%, while in the second it rises to 4.5% and in the third, to 6.9%.
David Oliva, director of Industrial & Logistic at CBRE in Barcelona, highlighted that 2021 has also been marked by the signing of large logistics operations. From the first half of 2021, three turnkey projects stand out: the 140,000 m2 one for Amazon in El Far d'Empordà-Vilamalla; the 90,000 m2 expansion for Mango in Lliçà d'Amunt; and, finally, the 34,000 m2 platform for ID Logistics in La Bisbal del Penedès.
Also relevant were the construction of a 19,000 square meter logistics warehouse for El Corte Inglés in Parets del Vallès and the rental of 50,000 square meters by Lidl in the ZAL Port, in El Prat de Llobregat.
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"Expectations for the Catalan logistics sector are also high for the current year," according to David Oliva. The year has already started with some notable operations. Renta Corporación has begun the development of a last-mile logistics asset, with a planned investment of 13 million euros and a surface area of 10,000 square meters in Ripollet (Barcelona). This turnkey project marks the entry into the Spanish real estate market of Mirastar, KKR Real Estate's industrial and logistics platform in Europe. The delivery of the warehouse is scheduled for the third quarter of 2023.
In this operation, Renta Corporación was advised by the real estate consultancy Savills Aguirre Newman, while Mirastar was advised by Garrigues, Savills Aguirre Newman and Nova Ambient on legal, technical and environmental aspects, respectively.
Also this January, the company Entredos Logistics, the new logistics alliance born from the union of two consolidated distributors in the publishing sector, Les Punxes Distribuidora and Àgora Solucions Logístiques, has leased 25,000 m² of logistics platforms in Prologis Park La Granada. These are two platforms owned by Prologis and the operation was carried out through the consultancy Forcadell.