Goodman accelerates in Central Europe

Australian listed property trust Goodman has announced this week a series of further, major commitment in Central Europe as it picks up the pace up growth in the region.

In Poland, Goodman said it has appointed B³a¿ej Ciesielczak, formerly with developer Segro, as general manager for Poland with effect from 1 November 2008. Goodman said that it plans also to open a third office in Poznan, in west central Poland, in addition to offices it already has in Warsaw and Cracow.

As interest in the logistics and distribution sector continues to spread further eastward, Goodman said that it has also made a major commitment in Romania, with the opening of a new office in Bucharest, and the appointment of Müler Onofrei, most recently with Bucharest property company Aleph Properties, as general manager for Romania with immediate effect.

In Hungary, Goodman said it has acquired a 155,000 m² development site at the Ullo Airport Logistics Centre, currently one of Budapest’s fastest growing consumer and logistics hubs and adjacent to the international airport. Goodman said the German health and beauty chain Rossmann has already agreed to lease a unit of some 27,000 m². In Gyal-Budapest, the property trust has acquired 21,000 m² warehousing development at Gyal-Budapest, immediately adjacent to another existing unit in its portfolio. Also in Hungary, Goodman has just delivered a brand new tailor-made warehouse of more than 10,000 m² to Bertrans, the dominant logistics player in the south of Hungary.

In Slovakia, Goodman pointed to strong market conditions, with Phase I of its Senec Logistics Centre being 100% fully let upon completion. Phase I of the project comprises a net lettable area of around 45,000 m² of a total 180,000 m² for the entire centre.

‘The logistics sector is one of the fastest growing sectors across Central Europe, as businesses reach for new markets in the Central and Eastern European region,’ explained Valérie Vanbiervliet, regional director CEE and Benelux at Goodman. ‘We are therefore seeing major growth in the contract logistics and transportation industries, with demand for modern, high quality warehouse space well exceeding supply in a number of locations. We believe, therefore, that the combination of our commitment to providing high quality, international-standard logistics accommodation and our policy of employing local people with real, grass-roots knowledge of the market, puts us in a strong position of being able to read the market going forward.’