• Period End Occupancy at 97.2 Percent
• 974,000 Square Metres of Leasing Activity
• 271,163 Square Metres of New Development Starts; 8 New Starts, 65.3 Percent leased

Prologis, Inc., the global leader in logistics real estate, today announced their operating and development portfolio activity for the second quarter of 2018 in Europe.

Operating Performance

Prologis Europe ended the second quarter with record occupancy at 97.2 percent, notably through improved demand in its Southern markets. During the quarter, the company signed 343,000 square metres of new leases and 631,000 square metres of lease renewals to its operating and development portfolio.

At quarter-end, the company owned or had investments in, on a wholly-owned basis or through co-investment ventures, properties and development projects totalling 16.7 million square metres in Europe.

“Expansion in Europe continues on an even keel throughout the second quarter of 2018. Demand is healthy, but constrained due to low availability of quality product,” said Ben Bannatyne, president, Prologis Europe. “We have pushed deeper into the urban core, providing Last Touch™ space nearer the consumption end of the supply chain which is actively sought after by our customers. Particularly e-commerce has been an important demand driver, accounting for 30 per cent of our build-to-suit starts.” 

Strongest operating and development markets in the second quarter were:

• The United Kingdom
• Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden in Northern Europe
• Spain and Italy in Southern Europe
• The Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia in Central and Eastern Europe

Notable new leases in the second quarter included:

• 40,894 square metres for CDiscount at Prologis Park Moissy, in France
• 36,319 square metres for a fashion retailer at Prologis Park Venlo, the Netherlands
• 26,756 square metres for Vente Privee Logistique at Prologis Park Penedes, in Spain
• 23,903 square metres for Rohlig Suus Logistics at Prologis Park Piotrków DC2, in Poland
• 10,776 square metres for Kinaxia at Prologis Park RFI DIRFT, in the United Kingdom

Development Starts

Development activity notably rose in France and Spain. In this quarter eight new developments were started in France, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden and the United Kingdom totalling 271,163 square metres; 35.6 percent was build-to-suit and 64.4 percent speculative, with 65,3 percent already leased.

Development starts included:

• 70,000 square metre build-to-suit for an electronics giant at Venlo in the Netherlands
• 38,494 square metre build-to-suit at Hams Hall, in the United Kingdom
• 31,837 square metre build-to-suit for Geodis at Douvrin, in France
• 14,000 square metre small business unit facility, 13.4 percent pre-leased at Poznan III, in Poland

Acquisitions and Dispositions

In the second quarter, Prologis acquired a 43,761 square metre building at Pilsen II in the Czech Republic and seven land plots in the Czech Republic, France, the Netherlands, Poland and the United Kingdom with a Net Rentable Area of 583,178 square metres.

Dispositions in this period included seven stabilised assets in Bad Hersfeld, Borken, Bremerhaven, Hassfurt and Neunkirchen in Germany and Basildon in the United Kingdom, totalling 169,389 square metres and 32,104 square metres of land in Italy, Poland and Slovakia.