LaSalle Investment Management has acquired the Urban Logistics Park Property B, a c.61,000m² multi-tenant distribution centre in Bleiswijk, that is considered to be a logistics hotspot of the Netherlands. The recently completed distribution centre was developed by the joint venture of USAA Realco-Europe and the Dutch developer Somerset Capital Partners. The asset is located on the former FloraHolland flower auction site which has been transformed into a logistics park where also the neighbouring parcel is currently being developed for Zalando on a build-to-suit basis by the same joint venture.
The asset is a newly-built, high-quality distribution centre, which benefits from a prime location in a dynamic logistics location area close to the A12 motorway that runs between The Hague and Utrecht. Approximately 11,500m² of the new logistics building is available to lease and is receiving strong interest. The new development is targeting a BREEAM ‘Very Good’ certification and the roof will soon have up to 45,000m² of photovoltaic solar panels that are expected to general several megawatts of electricity. The purchase price was not disclosed.
David Ironside, Fund Manager of Encore+, LaSalle Investment Management, said: “Following the acquisition of numerous logistics assets in close proximity to some of Europe’s largest cities in 2019, this deal illustrates Encore+’s ongoing strategy of increasing exposure to strong logistics locations with limited supply. Across Europe, we are seeing that the growth of e-commerce is driving demand for logistics and we expect this to continue, especially in The Netherlands where online sales account for only about 10% of total retail sales and are forecast to grow significantly in the next few years.”
Justin Hildebrandt, Managing Director at USAA Realco-Europe and Frans Landmeter, partner at Somerset Capital Partners, commented: “We are pleased to have LaSalle purchase our first Bleiswijk development, which is leased to leading (inter)national companies such as the logistics provider Gist and the supermarket company Detailresult Group (Dekamarkt, Dirk van den Broek). We are excited to continue to create a further world-class development on the neighbouring parcel for the Zalando build-to-suit and realize the vision we saw in this location.”
