During 2014, the renting of warehouses, both with respect to surface area rented and number of operations, grew in Catalonia, and the promotion of logistics warehouses was also reactivated, according to the report by the Real Estate consultancy firm, Estrada & Partners.

In the report on the market for logistics warehouses produced by the consultancy firm Estrada & Partners, it is evident that during 2014, 312,056 square metres of logistics warehouses were rented, representing an increase of 15.28% over the previous year. Of this area, 246,856 square metres were rented in the first ring of Barcelona, ​​the area closest to the Catalan capital. Besides, of the total square metres rented, 241,756 (77.47% and two-fold that of 2013) were new surfaces, whereas the remaining 70,300 square metres (22.53%) were procurements by companies that were relocating their facilities.

In 2014 a total of 55 logistics operations were closed, 10.90% up on 2013. The main leases of logistics warehouses, include the renting of 32,000 square metres by the company Sitasa in the town of El Pla de Santa María, 20,000 square metres leased to ID Logistics in Vilarodona, 15,000 square metres to Aldeasa in Barcelona, ​​13,375 square metres to Molenbergnatie in the ZAL of Barcelona, and 10,000 square metres to the company Naeko in Sant Boi de Llobregat.

Regarding the type of customers who rented the warehouses, 72.92% were logistics companies and the rest, 27.07%, undertakings that were renting space to develop their own logistics.

Also during 2014, and after five years in which no new warehouse surface areas were promoted, the promotion of 20,000 square metres of new logistics warehouses was begun, a fact that means Catalonia has a total surface area of 2,979,328 square metres of state-of-the-art warehouses available for leasing, with a vacancy rate of 16.62%, five percentage points lower than 2013.

Source and photo: BCL