Logistics: Everything in its proper place
Confirmation that the Netherlands is a favoured logistics and warehousing investment destination came in late September when CB Richard Ellis completed on more than €66 million of deals as part of two transactions in the country.
In the first transaction, acting on behalf of Kenmore Property Group, the commercial real estate adviser sold a major, reversionary asset at Veghel, near Eindhoven in the south-east logistics hub of the Netherlands, to Belgian logistics market leader Warehouse de Pauw for around €31.7 million. The property is let to Switzerland-based logistics and freighting firm Kuehne & Nagel until 2013 and comprises around 67,225 square metres of accommodation built between 1986 and 1996.
The second deal was undertaken by CBRE on behalf of Australian property group Goodman International, with the sale of two properties – in Almere and Nijmegen – to Deka, the real-estate investment unit of German Deka Bank Group, for €34.8 million. Built in 2003, the Almere property covers a total area of almost 25,000 square metres, and is let to auto parts manufacturer TYC Europe until 2013. The Nijmegen property was built in 2001 and provides 31,000 square metres of accommodation let to two tenants, bicycle production and design specialist Bikeurope and IT reseller Saphin.
"Although the market is tougher right now, there is still relative strength in the logistics sector," confirms David Turner, head of CBRE’s cross-border industrial and logistics team. He is bullish about the fundamentals of pan-European logistics and says that they remain strong and largely unaltered. Consequently, there is an identifiable demand for quality warehousing in prime logistics locations, underpinned by strong covenants. "[In particular] the Netherlands represents one of continental Europe’s core logistics hubs and these two transactions reflect pan-European investors’ long-term confidence in the sector," notes Turner.