UK, Germany and France account for 80% of logistics market in Q3

Investment in European logistics and industrial assets maintained its momentum in the third quarter of 2012, with roughly EUR 2 bn transacted over the quarter, according to new research published by agent Jones Lang LaSalle.

The EUR 2 bn figure marks a slight dip from EUR 2.2 bn in Q2, largely a result of a slow first quarter and the continued limited supply of prime product, JLL said.

'We continue to record strong investor interest in the logistics and industrial sector,' said Tom Waite, associate director of European Capital Markets at JLL. 'However, there remains a polarisation in transactional activity across the region with the larger, core markets such as Germany, the UK and France leading the way. Elsewhere, interest continues to increase in markets such as Poland, the Benelux and the Nordics, while trading levels in key southern European countries remain subdued.'.

The UK, Germany and France accounted for almost 80% of total investment volumes in Q3 2012, up from 71% in the previous quarter. Volumes in France and Germany were driven by a number of transactions, such as portfolio acquisitions by Segro and Blackstone in France and the new-build 100,000 m² Amazon fulfilment centre in Koblenz (Germany) sold by developer Goodman to a US REIT.

Outside the core markets, Poland and Russia continued to attract strong interest and, driven by improving liquidity, they were the only two other markets that saw transaction volumes increase over the first three quarters, up 77% and 40% year-on-year respectively.

Nevertheless, overall the continued lack of prime product is expected to prevent a significant acceleration in transaction volumes during the final months of the year. As a result, full-year 2012 volumes are likely to remain around 20% below last year’s figure of EUR 9.9 bn.