Slough Estates International ("SEI") has announced that in the second quarter of the year it has agreed lettings and a pre-sale totalling over 100,000m² across its Continental European network. With 100,000 m² already let in the first quarter, the total area leased year-to-date is now over 200,000 m². The yield on all of the development projects below is in line with or greater than SEI's targets in these regions.
Central Europe Poland
In the second quarter of the year SEI has agreed to develop a new warehouse in Strykow. 9,500 m² for Azymut (Polish distributor of schoolbooks) to be delivered in January 2007. The lease is for a minimum of 10 years. SEI has also signed a 10 year lease with a break at year 5 for 6,500 m² with a UK healthcare company on the new logistics site in Poznan, situated off the motorway which connects Berlin with Warsaw.
Belgium
SEI and joint venture (50:50) partner KBC Vastgoed, have signed an important lease on the Rumst Logistics Park, situated off the E19 motorway which connects Antwerp with Brussels, with Exel, the logistics firm. This is the second significant signing achieved by SEI and KBC Vastgoed this year.
Exel has entered into a 10-year lease with a break at year 5 on a 42,433 m² built-to-suit logistics building for delivery early 2007. The warehouse facility at Rumst will be used for the storage and distribution of products for a Japanese client.
SEI has signed 2,829 m² of new leases at Pegasus Park with Trifinance (an extension), Cognos (also an extension) and with Alten Axen (consultants in engineering and advanced technologies), a new tenant in the Park. SEI has also agreed terms with a European hotel developer for a project management fee contract for the construction of a 12,000 m² scheme comprising a 180-rooms 4 star hotel and 3,000 m² of serviced offices on the Sirius site opposite Pegasus Park, close to Brussels airport. The plot will be sold later this year and the project management fee will be in excess of 2.5 million.
France
SEI has signed a new 6/9 year firm lease with Codico (distributor) on 3,788 m² at its light industrial scheme at Le Blanc Mesnil to the south of Paris. SEI and joint venture partner Capital & Continental (with 66.6% and 33.3% respectively) have entered into a 9 year lease with a break at year 6 on the existing 5,803 m² office scheme at Nanterre with the Conseil Général des Hauts de Seine. The annual rent is 1.5 million.
Germany
SEI has also signed over 23,000 m² of new leases across its German portfolio in the second quarter of the year. The majority of this take up has been through the following lettings:
- In Darmstadt, Bauder (storage of household goods) has taken a new lease on 4,336 m² for 10 years with a break at years 5 and 7, and TRW Automotive has signed for 12,537 m² in Saarbrucken - both deals relate to parts of the portfolio acquired from KarstadtQuelle
- Asics has leased for 10 years, with a break at year 5, an additional 2,876 m² at Neuss, near Dusseldorf, at an annual rent of just over 100,000.
- Terms have been agreed with Hess Natur Textilien (distributors of ecological textiles) for a 1,260 m² built-to-suit extension to a former Karstadt property in Butzbach, north of Frankfurt. Hess Natur Textilien has signed a lease for 14 years.
Walter Hens, SEI Managing Director Continental Europe said:"The second quarter was another very busy and successful period for us as we continued to expand in strategic business locations with real potential for growth - focusing on logistics, light industrial and suburban office, and leveraging and developing our customer relationships across Europe. The 200,000 m² of transactions announced to date in 2006 will result in 10 million new annual rent and over 2.5 million of project management fees. We currently have 100,000 m² under construction but we expect that this figure will rise to 220,000 m² later this year. Just under 60% of this is already prelet".
Source: Slough Estates International
