24 ottobre 2008
"Despite the economic uncertainty, the European industrial and logistics
market is showing signs of relative stability compared with other real
estate sectors. Robust activity in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and
Germany, in particular, has contributed to the strength of the overall
industrial picture, according to a new market report by CB Richard
Ellis.While overall European investment activity dropped sharply in the
first half of 2008, industrial investment was more stable, totalling €6.6bn
and accounting for 10% of total European turnover. Excluding the UK,
industrial investment activity in the first half was only 3% lower than the
same period in 2007, whilst overall European investment turnover in the
first half totalled €66.5bn, a 46% reduction on H1 2007. Over half (54%) of
all European industrial investment comprised cross-border acquisitions,
compared to less than 40% in 2006, suggesting that the sector’s more
international nature is an ongoing and longer-term trend.The geographic
spread of industrial investment activity across Europe has also shifted. The
historically dominant economies such as the UK and France are not making as
large a contribution to the total investment pool. At 29% of total
industrial investment, Germany represented the single largest component of
first half activity, up from 12% for 2007 as a whole. By contrast, the UK
comprised only 20% of the market in H1 2008, compared with over a third last
year, and France also reported a decline.Industrial rents in Europe are
maintaining a degree of stability compared to other real estate sectors. The
EU-15 industrial prime rent index fell by 1.0% in the third quarter of 2008,
the second successive quarterly reduction; although the year-on-year growth
rate remains positive at 0.4%. The EU-10 industrial rent index, covering
Central and Eastern Europe, remained stable in the third quarter, up 7.3%
year-on-year. Reflecting the trend seen across other European property
sectors, industrial yields rose further in the third quarter with the EU-15
industrial yield index up by over 20 basis points to 7.1%. Many CEE markets
have seen increased occupier activity as the supply of modern logistics
space expands and where a combination of rising construction costs and
strong demand is pushing up rents. In the Czech Republic, total market
take-up in the first half of the year was up by 83% from the corresponding
period last year. Many of these countries are also seeing the evolution of
more mature market structures as third party logistics operators extend
their networks into new markets. In Poland, for instance, demand is
increasingly dispersed around the country and over 50% of modern logistics
stock is now located outside the Warsaw area. Occupier demand in
well-established markets such as France and the Netherlands has weakened in
the first half of the year due to a range of factors, including a shortage
of available quality stock.Richard Holberton, Head of EMEA Industrial
Research at CB Richard Ellis, commented: "Recent and longer-term indicators
reflect the relative stability of the European industrial market from both
an occupational and investment standpoint. The sector’s defensive attributes
– relatively high income return and low requirement for rental growth – are
increasingly attractive in a lower-growth environment, and investment levels
so far this year show the sector’s increasing attraction to investors across
a broad range of markets."
(CS della Società)
EUROPE’S INDUSTRIAL & LOGISTICS PROPERTY MARKET
HOLDS STABLE AMIDST BROADER DOWNTURN
EMEA Industrial
& Logistics
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