P3 Grew in Central and Eastern Europe in 2014

Peter Bečár, P3's Executive Director for Central and Eastern Europe, said: “Central and Eastern Europe lacks sufficient modern warehouse space to accommodate increasing demand, particularly from the automotive, retail, e-commerce and logistics operators’ sectors. P3 is directly benefitting from this shortfall in supply as we operate some of the most modern and best-located facilities in the region, as well as having efficient build-to-suit capabilities and an extensive development land bank. As economic recovery and consumption gather pace, the fundamentals of P3’s business will improve further in tandem.”

P3’s Largest CEE Leasing Transactions in 2014 were:

• P3 Poznan park, Poland - 26,743 m² to PF Concept
• P3 Prague D1 park, the Czech Republic - 20,125 m² to Mountfield

P3 also renegotiated lease agreements for 103,820 m² of commercial space in its CEE portfolio last year.

Record Built-to-Suit Construction

P3’s largest construction project in Central and Eastern Europe last year was a new warehouse with 46,230 m² of space built for the ID Logistics firm in the P3 Mszczonów park near Warsaw, Poland.

The second largest project in the region, and the biggest venture in the Czech Republic, was the construction of a storage warehouse for VF Corporation at the P3 Prague D8 park. Completed in January 2015, the facility features 39,187 m² of commercial space.

P3 also launched speculative developments in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 2014 in order to be able to react swiftly and flexibly to its clients’ requirements.

Lease Agreements and Construction by P3 in Central and Eastern Europe in 2014 (m²)

In line with the same period of 2014, the first quarter of this year was marked by a flurry of transaction activity. For example, P3 negotiated a deal to lease 25,445 m² of warehouse space in the P3 Mszczonów park near Warsaw to the Fiege Group, a leading provider of logistics services in Europe.

Moreover, a major acquisition concluded at the end of 2014, which was approved by the regulatory authorities at the start of this year, has enlarged the P3 portfolio in Central and Eastern Europe by an additional three parks – two in Poland and one in Romania – with a total leasable area of 467,000 m² as well as nearly 165 hectares of development land. Throughout this year, P3 will focus on the stabilization and further development of its expanded portfolio.

E-commerce Features Strongly in P3 Czech Expansion

P3 emerged as the second largest logistics real estate player in the Czech Republic in 2014 following its acquisition of 11 industrial parks in various locations across the country.

Tomáš Míček, P3 Country Head for the Czech Republic said: “Last year was transformational for P3’s business in the Czech Republic. Not only do we now have the second largest logistics market share, we also have a widely diversified presence across the regions outside Prague. For example, at the start of March we began the construction of a new 7,096 m² warehouse in the new P3 park in Liberec."

Burgeoning economic recovery and the continuing strong growth of e-commerce in the Czech Republic, as in other European countries, will be a key driver of expansion in P3’s business and the logistics sector as a whole going forward, boosting the importance of the B2C (business-to-consumer) market.

Jakub Pelikán, P3's Head of Development, said: "As the volume of e-commerce grows, so does the demand for distribution centres on the fringes of urban areas as we’ve seen with P3’s Horní Počernice park on the outskirts of Prague. The park has several pick-up outlets run by companies such as Alza, IKEA, and Pet Center – which has also opened a veterinary clinic at the location. As consumers visiting suburban industrial zones increase, the number of showrooms and specialized stores moving in will also rise, resulting in the growing integration of these logistic parks with nearby cities, reflected in, for example, by better public transport links.”

P3 signed new and renewed existing lease contracts for respectively 46,964 m² and 73,523 m² of commercial space In the Czech Republic last year. Development projects included the construction of two warehouses with a total floor area of 35,840 m².

Lease Agreements and Construction by P3 in the Czech Republic in 2014 (m²)

In Slovakia, P3 signed new and renewed existing lease contracts for respectively 3,669 m² and 14,735 m² of commercial space last year.

Development projects included the construction of nearly 6,100 m² warehouse at P3 Žilina park – a part of which has been leased to the international logistics operator Geis Group – and a facility with a total area of 14,675 m² at the P3 Bratislava park.

Peter Jánoši, P3 Country Head for Slovakia said: "We are seeing strong growth in the demand for warehouse space for e-commerce in Slovakia, which was underscored by the start of construction on a new DHL package processing center at the P3 Žilina park at the beginning of this year. This was the second such facility we have been contracted to build for DHL within a short period of time."

Lease Agreements and Construction by P3 in Slovakia in 2014 (m²)