The European logistics market will soon play catch-up with the US and the UK and this change will bring rental growth to the sector, delegates heard at the PropertyEU E-commerce and Logistics Investment Briefing at EXPO REAL on Wednesday.
'Logistics is now recognised as a core pillar of economic growth,' said Vanessa Muscarà, associate director – property research at M&G Real Estate. 'Despite strong fundamentals and record low vacancy rates, rentals uplifts have been minimal so far but this is about to change and the change is imminent.'
One big driver of change is physical: Ten-T, a E700 bn EU infrastructure project, will upgrade roads, port, rail and air infrastructure, improving interconnectivity and the speed of delivery across Europe by 2030.
Another driver of change is digital: the digital single market will remove regulatory barriers and tackle unjustified geo-blocking, allowing Europeans to buy online from other countries without being penalized. 'As connectivity and the use of the internet improve, the growth of e-commerce will underpin logistics rental growth,' said Muscarà.
According to M&G Real Estate research, the Nordics and Benelux offer the best opportunities in logistics today and will drive rental performance over the next five years, but Southern Europe and Poland show the largest medium and long-term growth potential. ‘These countries will play catch up as they enter a more advanced stage of their growth cycle,’ she said.
