Interview Bram Verhoeven and Sander Breugelmans with Vastgoedmarkt
The American logistics investor Prologis recently bought two old warehouses of 16.000 sqm in the Eemhaven in Rotterdam. Redevelopment is a new discipline for the developing investor.
'Before we mostly did so called greenfield-developemnts', says Bram Verhoeven, with Prologis since Juli 2018, responsible for the Northern European region. 'In the Netherlands we see a shortage of logistics meters and there is a shortage of ground. The amount of logistical meters can no longer be extended.
Prologis also sees that same development elsewhere in the world. 'For example in the United States and the United Kingdom. Those markets are somewhat behind on the Netherlands. The shortage is for our role as developer an obstacle. But we are also a long-term investor. In that role a shortage can be a positive thing, because that leads to an increase in rent.'
'We invest very selectively, only choosing A-locations', says country manager Benelux Sander Breugelmans. 'We have to be able to lease our logistic developments also during harder times. Because of the shortage of those A-locations, we have become more active in redevelopments, but also in so-called infill- and brownfield-developments. We have always been an all-rounder, but in 2018 we already did more acquisitions. If in the long term we still want to be a big player, we do not have another choice.'
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