Operating Performance
The company leased 1.75 million square metres in 2015, which is similar to 2014’s record-breaking figure. New lease agreements accounted for 618,000 square metres and lease renewals for 860,000 square metres, with the balance short-term agreements. Demand continues to be driven by reconfiguration of the supply chain, trade and e-commerce.
Prologis ended the fourth quarter with a very high 95.4 percent occupancy of the company’s operating portfolio, confirming the stabilisation of the market and strengthening of Prologis' position in CEE. Importantly, Prologis achieved one of the highest customer retention rates in CEE in the company's history, amounting to 87 percent at the end of 2015.
At year end, the company’s operating portfolio was 4.17 million square metres, an increase of 4 percent over the course of 2015, despite the disposal of Prologis Park Bucharest A1, which totalled 107,000 square metres. Adding developments and value-add acquisitions, the portfolio was 4.33 million square metres at the end of 2015.
Notable new leasing activity included:
• 29,000 square metres for Globus at Prologis Park Prague-Jirny
• 31,000 square metres for DHL at Prologis Park Prague-Jirny
• 26,500 square metres for an e-commerce company at Prologis Park Poznań II
• 25,400 square metres for a German automotive company at Prologis Park Bratislava
• 15,900 square metres with a global leader in design, manufacturing, distribution and aftermarket services at Prologis Park Budapest M1
“Our impressive customer retention and portfolio occupancy rates confirm our strategy, which focuses on selected markets, development and the highest quality of services,” said Martin Polak, senior vice president and regional head for Prologis CEE.
Developments Starts
In 2015, Prologis started 10 developments in undersupplied markets across the region. Totalling 200,000 square metres, 46 percent of the development space was build-to-suit and 54 percent was speculative. The majority of the developments were in existing Prologis parks located in core logistics markets.
Development starts included:
• 30,000 square metre build-to-suit facility for Pepco at Prologis Park Rawa
• 29,000 square metre build-to-suit facility for Globus at Prologis Park Prague-Jirny
• 27,650 square metres speculative facility at Prologis Park Szczecin (DC3)
• 25,400 square metre build-to-suit facility for a German automotive company at Prologis Park Bratislava
• 19,200 square metre speculative facility at Prologis Park Bratislava (10B)
Completed Developments
In 2015, Prologis delivered nine facilities, including four buildings started and completed in the same year, totalling 197,000 square metres. Completed developments included:
• 46,000 square metres in three speculative facilities at Prologis Park Bratislava
• 31,700 square metres for Mall.cz at Prologis Park Prague-Jirny
• 31,200 square metres for Červa at Prologis Park Prague-Airport
• 30,000 square metres of speculative space at Prologis Park Prague-Airport (DC1)
• 27,650 square metre speculative facility at Prologis Park Szczecin (DC3)
Acquisitions
In 2015 Prologis acquired six buildings, totalling 97,000 square metres, and 14 hectares of land in the Czech Republic and Hungary. These acquisitions were in line with the Prologis strategy of investing carefully in global markets. During the year Prologis sold portfolio in Romania totalling 107,000 square metres.
Sustainable Development
For eight years Prologis has been following a strategy in the area of sustainable construction, with all newly-constructed buildings undergoing BREEAM accreditation. In 2015, six Prologis facilities received high scores in the BREEAM accreditation process:
• “Excellent” for Prologis Park Prague-Airport (DC1), a speculative facility totalling 29,920 square metres
• “Excellent” for Prologis Park Prague-Jirny (DC7), a build-to-suit production facility totalling 12,340 square metres for Demoautoplast
• “Very good” for Prologis Park Prague-Airport (DC2), a build-to-suit facility totalling 31,190 square metres for Červa
• “Good” for Prologis Park Prague-Jirny (DC5), a build-to-suit facility totalling 31,730 square metres for Mall.cz
• “Good” for Prologis Park Wrocław V (DC5), a speculative facility totalling 26,764 square metres
• “Good” for Prologis Park Budapest-Sziget (DC6), a build-to-suit facility totalling 7,650 square metres for
DB Schenker
“We expect that demand in 2016 will be stable and result in further steady development of the industrial real estate market in the whole region” Polak added. “The investment level should also remain constant, with speculative facilities at least already 30 percent pre-leased before construction starts. A dynamic increase in e-commerce, which is currently the fastest growing group of customers, combined with further expansion of the retail and automotive sectors, will be driving demand this year”.
With its active engagement in four CEE countries and a portfolio totalling 4.3 million square metres, Prologis is the leading provider of distribution facilities in Central and Eastern Europe (as of 31 December 2015).
Red Lemon Media
