Logistics contracting grows at unstoppable rates. In the first half of the year, a total of 527,838 m² of surface area destined for logistics activities were contracted in Catalonia. This figure is 21% higher than the demand recorded in all of 2020, that is, in six months more square meters have been leased than in a full year, although 2020's activity was severely affected by the pandemic.
It is precisely an effect derived from the health crisis, the strong boom in e-commerce, the main reason why this year is a record for the logistics sector in Catalonia, as the barrier of 700,000 square meters could be exceeded, a "historic figure", according to projections made by the consultancy BNP Paribas Real Estate.
According to its latest sectoral report, in the second quarter of 2021, Catalan logistics contracting totaled 263,140 m², which represents an increase of 186% compared to the same period in 2020 and practically replicates the contracting levels recorded in the first quarter of 2021, a quarter that already marked a record in the historical series.
In Madrid, the increase recorded in this last quarter was somewhat higher, 201%, that is, contracting has tripled, with 283,460 m².
"The logistics segment continues to position itself as the favorite within the real estate market directly or indirectly linked to the e-commerce boom, especially in terms of food, following the irruption of the pandemic," explains BNP.
In the Catalan logistics real estate market, 18 large contracts were signed in the second quarter, a figure that brings the total number of signed contracts so far this year to 37. Of these 18 operations, 9 were signed for more than 10,000 m², representing 85% of the contracted area in the second quarter. The average size of operations rose to 14,619 m² compared to 13,931 m² recorded in the first quarter of 2021.
As outstanding operations, a turnkey project by IDL, of 34,000 m², in La Bisbal del Penedés, and another of 20,000 m² in Santa Perpètua by an e-commerce operator are included. The future expansion of Mango in Lliçà d' Amunt, with an approximate area of 90,000 m², has also been taken into account in the calculation. La Garriga, El Prat de Llobregat and Mollet del Vallès are other municipalities where rental operations exceeding 10,000 m² have been closed.
The so-called regional arc, the closest to Barcelona, has absorbed 55% of the operations and 68% of the contracted area between April and June, with an average size of 17,955 m² contracted. In Catalonia as a whole, the average rent stands at €5.4/m2/month. The Prime rent remains around €7.25/m2/month.
According to BNP, strong demand has caused the availability rate to drop to 3.1%, meaning that only 3% of the surface area of a logistics park, which already totals 7.1 million square meters, is available for rent. Given this strong dynamism, developers have many projects underway that will allow them to increase the supply during the next 36 months, when an estimated 620,000 m² of new space will be incorporated into the market.
A sector with increasing weight in the economy
The weight of the logistics sector in Catalonia continues to increase year after year and, currently, it already accounts for 14.4% of Catalan GDP, according to the Observatori de la Logística, created in 2004 by the public company Cimalsa, dependent on the Generalitat. This study confirms an 8.6% increase in the number of companies in the sector in 2020, a year in which operations linked to e-commerce grew by 25.5%.
"With the figures in hand, it can be said that the phrase: Catalonia will be logistics or it will not be was very true, since logistics in Catalonia has a greater weight compared to the entire European environment," according to the secretary of the Department of Territory and Mobility, Isidre Gavín.