Investment in logistics assets in the domestic market could reach €2 billion euros in 2021, according to Expansión newspaper, after a slowdown in 2020, undoubtedly due to the pandemic. All in all, the drop in capital invested in this type of asset in 2020, about €1.6 billion, was only 10% lower than in 2019, compared to a plunge of 35% for the Spanish real estate sector as a whole. Key players include the socimi Merlin Properties, as well as investment funds such as Blackstone, Brookfield and Apollo.
The biggest deal is expected to be the sale of Montepino logistics, due to the exit plans of its largest shareholder, CBRE GI, a deal that could be valued at more than €800Mn.
In the opinion of analyts at Intermoney, it is “not surprising” that logistics is one of the most attractive sectors at the moment, due to the unstoppable growth of e-commerce:
“Merlin Properties is the only socimi in the Spanish continuous market with a relevant presence in this sector, once Colonial and Lar decided to sell their exposure to this type of asset.As of December last year, Merlin’s logistics assets had an appraised valuation of €1.02 billion, +8% compared to 2019, although our estimate, already taking into account future growth, exceeds €1.5 billion, out of a total estimated GAV of €12.3 billion.
“Merlin has reported land reserves for logistics developments of close to 600,000 sqm. Currently, the gross yield of its assets in service is 5.6%.”
