Growth in e-commerce and retail sectors, Build-to-Suit (BTS) warehouse construction, the expansion of {link url='http://www.p3parks.com/en/panorama/czech-republic/p3-prague-d11' text='P3 Prague D11'}  park and the sale of P3 to GIC (Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund), that is the story of logistics in the Czech Republic in 2016 according to P3, the owner, developer and manager of warehouse properties across Europe.

"For P3, 2016 can be summarised by the emergence of three key themes - length, height and comfort.  Length because we continued to agree long-term leases with customers and we built a warehouse that was 336 m long. Height because a 12 m clearance height became standard in the new warehouses we built during the year. And, comfort because growth in e-commerce demonstrates that people like to shop from the comfort of their homes, while at the same time comfort became an important consideration in the construction of our warehouses as our customers looked to incorporate better and better staff facilities," said Tomáš Míček, Country Head for P3 in the Czech Republic.


Longer contracts and Built-to-Suit construction

P3’s business model focuses on long-term leases with its customers, while still having the ability to provide short-term leases, particularly to support clients during seasonal peaks. P3 signed a 2016 record 15-year lease with automotive components manufacturer Happich for space at {link url='http://www.p3parks.com/en/panorama/czech-republic/p3-plzen' text='P3 Plzeň'}  park.  It also agreed a 10-year lease with Česká spořitelna on a new central document depository at {link url='http://www.p3parks.com/en/panorama/czech-republic/p3-hradec-kralove' text='P3 Hradec Králové'}  park.

Projects completed by P3 last year included the BTS construction of a new warehouse for the VF Corporation, the owner of premium lifestyle brands. The flagship of P3's portfolio, the new building features an extra-wide, 36 m span between columns in the dock area and it is also the most environmentally-friendly and intelligent building in P3’s pan-European portfolio. The warehouse incorporates a number of unique aspects, including special heating and ventilation systems, a cafeteria that can cater for up to 1,000 people, an outside rest area and state-of-the-art office and staff facilities. The combines both traditional and, with its mezzanine, vertical warehouse layouts and sits alongside 3,500 m² of offices.

The largest warehouse finished in 2016 is located at {link url='http://www.p3parks.com/en/panorama/czech-republic/p3-prague-d11' text='P3 Prague D11'}, the newest P3 park in the Czech Republic. Building 1 was mainly BTS for transport service provider FM Logistic. The facility features a clearance height of 12 metres, the same as the internal height of the second warehouse in the park (BTS for Exiteria) as well as the VF Corporation warehouse in {link url='http://www.p3parks.com/en/panorama/czech-republic/p3-prague-d8' text='P3 Prague D8'}  park.

The biggest lease renewal of the year was MD Logistics Inc, which extended its lease at {link url='http://www.p3parks.com/en/panorama/czech-republic/p3-prague-horni-pocernice' text='P3 Prague Horni Pocernice'}  park ‑ where it occupies the largest building, covering an area of about six football pitches (40,000 m²).


2016 ‑ a year of challenges

The fastest growing sectors of the past year were e-commerce and retail ‑ where the number of deals signed by P3 increased by 10% year on year. One of the greatest challenges was relocating Košík.cz from one warehouse to another in the Autumn, one of the most hectic periods for e-commerce operations. "The high-speed growth of the Košík.cz start-up really put us through our paces. We used all of our experience and expertise to assisted Košík.cz set up its operations in a much larger warehouse. Thanks to P3's seasoned specialists, all of the company's stock was relocated with no interruption to the services this client provides to its customers," Míček explained.


P3’s greatest joy? Being part of our customers’ success

P3 operates in nine European countries and has a land bank ready for the development of over 1.8 million m². At the same time, the firm is always looking for new business opportunities. "Acquiring new sites is one of our greatest joys. Each acquisition allows us to offer our customers an even better service, to be more flexible and to continue growing. We are happy when we can help our clients' fulfil their business ambitions.  That’s why we will continue to look for new park locations in the upcoming year. We are interested in sites on the outskirts of large cities with good transport connections. Finding such sites is important for ensuring the sustainability of our business," concluded Míček.