AMSTERDAM (19 April 2016) – Prologis, Inc., the global leader in logistics real estate, today announced first quarter activity in Europe.
Operating Performance
Prologis Europe ended the first quarter with 95 percent occupancy. The company signed new leasing agreements totalling nearly 260,500 square metres in the first quarter.
At quarter-end, the company’s operating portfolio was 15.4 million square metres. Adding developments and value- add acquisitions, the portfolio was 16.4 million square metres.
“Customer sentiment is becoming more even across Europe,” said Ben Bannatyne, president, Prologis Europe. “It remains strong in the U.K. and Northern Europe, and is improving in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe. Occupancy across our European portfolio remains the highest on record.”
Markets with the strongest customer demand in the first quarter were:
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the U.K., Hamburg, Munich, South Netherlands, Rotterdam and Sweden in Northern Europe;
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Lyon, Le Havre and Barcelona in Southern Europe; and
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Prague, Budapest and Bratislava in Central and Eastern Europe.
Notable new leasing activity in the first quarter included:
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35,000 square metres for XPO, a third-party logistics provider, near Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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18,000 square metres for Linemart, a third-party logistics provider in Prague, Czech Republic
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7,100 square metres for an express shipping service company in Chorzow, Poland
Development Starts
Supply of Class-A distribution facilities remains low across all European markets. In the first quarter, Prologis Europe started four developments in the Netherlands, the U.K. and the Czech Republic. Totalling 59,030 square metres, 71 percent of the development space was build-to-suit and 29 percent was speculative.
Development starts included:
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36,600 square metres for Coolblue, an e-commerce company, in Tilburg, the Netherlands
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10,500 and 7,300 square metre facilities developed speculatively in West London, U.K.
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5,200 square metres for Nagel Cesko, a food logistics provider, and 5,100 square metres for Logflex CZ, a third-party logistics provider, in Prague, Czech Republic
“We continue to selectively develop in tighter markets with solid operating fundamentals, as a result of low vacancy levels, available equity and positive customer sentiment,” Bannatyne said.
Acquisitions and Disposals
In the first quarter Prologis Europe acquired €30 million of buildings, totalling 52,600 square metres, and five land plots, totalling 414,390 square metres, across Europe. These acquisitions were in line with Prologis’ strategy of investing carefully in global markets.
Acquisitions included:
- two buildings from Borgosesia Gestioni SGR in Fiano Romano, near Rome
During the quarter, Prologis Europe sold properties in Spain, the U.K. and the Netherlands for a total of €214 million.
Disposals included:
- a 144,300 square metre portfolio of Spanish industrial properties to GreenOak Real Estate’s Continental European Private Equity Real Estate Fund
“Logistics real estate continues to attract investors and capital for development continues to be strong,” Bannatyne concluded. “Cap rates remained stable over the first quarter, with the potential to compress further this year.”
ABOUT PROLOGIS
Prologis, Inc. is the global leader in industrial real estate. As of September 30, 2015, Prologis owned or had investments in, on a wholly owned basis or through co-investment ventures, properties and development projects expected to total approximately 671 million square feet (62 million square meters) in 21 countries. The company leases modern distribution facilities to more than 5,200 customers, including third-party logistics providers, transportation companies, retailers and manufacturers.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
The statements in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward- looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the industry and markets in which Prologis operates, management’s beliefs and assumptions made by management. Such statements involve uncertainties that could significantly impact Prologis’ financial results. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements, which generally are not historical in nature. All statements that address operating performance, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future — including statements relating to rent and occupancy growth, development activity and changes in sales or contribution volume of properties, disposition activity, general conditions in the geographic areas where we operate, our debt and financial position, our ability to form new co-investment ventures and the availability of capital in existing or new co-investment ventures — are forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Although we believe the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be attained and therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that may affect outcomes and results include, but are not limited to: (i) national, international, regional and local economic climates, (ii) changes in financial markets, interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates, (iii) increased or unanticipated competition for our properties, (iv) risks associated with acquisitions, dispositions and development of properties, (v) maintenance of real estate investment trust (“REIT”) status and tax structuring, (vi) availability of financing and capital, the levels of debt that we maintain and our credit ratings, (vii) risks related to our investments in our co-investment ventures and funds, including our ability to establish new co-investment ventures and funds, (viii) risks of doing business internationally, including currency risks, (ix) environmental uncertainties, including risks of natural disasters, and (x) those additional factors discussed in reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Prologis under the heading “Risk Factors.” Prologis undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements appearing in this release.