A total of €8.7 bn was invested in European industrial real estate during the first half of 2014, a 25% increase on the year-earlier period and the highest first-half figure since 2007, according to new data from CBRE.
A total of €8.7 bn was invested in European industrial real estate during the first half of 2014, a 25% increase on the year-earlier period and the highest first-half figure since 2007, according to new data from CBRE.
Industrial property now makes up 10.3% of the real estate investment market, up from 9.5% in 2013, with the UK capturing the lion’s share of investment, at €3.5 bn.
The Nordics performed particularly well in H1 2014, with €878 mln invested into the region, an almost 50% increase on H2 2013. The region began the year well with the highest quarterly total since 2007 in Q1 2014 and continues to attract large amounts of capital with high value sales, including a transaction of over €200 mln in Sweden in the second quarter of 2014.
'The industrial sector’s continued growth in terms of both total investment and percentage of market share reaffirms its position as the sector which can generate attractive sustainable long-term income returns, while also benefitting from capital growth along with the rest of the market,' commented James Markby, head of EMEA industrial and logistics investment at CBRE. 'Many institutions are just beginning to allocate capital to the sector, and those that are already participating are looking for further increases.'
On the occupational side, industrial take-up rose across most countries in the first half of the year. Demand for warehouse space in core EMEA countries increased 42% year-on-year. Paris, Milan and Budapest saw the strongest improvements in leasing activity, followed closely by Dublin and Amsterdam.