Panattoni Europe, industrial real estate leader in Europe, has signed a deal with ELTEK Poland to deliver a production and warehouse facility in the build-to-own (BTO) formula. The 11,400-square-metre project will be erected in Bielsko-Biała, and is scheduled for handover to the future owner in Q4 2019. ELTEK was advised in the deal by AXI IMMO.
SPECJAŁ, a leading FMCG distributor, has opened a new wholesale branch, its sixteenth, in Panattoni Park Lublin. It has also decided to relocate one of its branches to Panattoni Park Warszawa Konotopa II. The tenant was represented in the transactions by real estate advisory firm Cresa.
From the outside, the new building looks no different from any other at P3’s Prague Horní Počernice park. Concealed within, however, is something unique: a warehouse that doubles as a bank. Or a car. Or the surface of Mars.
Welcome to the largest B2B Virtual Reality laboratory in Europe.
VIRTUAL IN REALITY?
Our reporters spent a day at the Virtuplex lab, together with P3 leadership, Virtuplex co-owners Martin Petrovický and Pavel Novak, and other VIPs, and got a chance to try this breathtaking technology first-hand.
“You can remove your glasses or put the headset over them, it’s up to you,” says Martin, handing me a sleek black module that looks like a prop straight out of Star Wars. It’s quite heavy, but thanks to a fixing mechanism like the one on bike helmets, I can attach the whole thing firmly to my head with no discomfort. He helps me put on a backpack, housing the brain of the whole operation — a powerful personal computer. After a few quick adjustments, a crystal-clear image appears... and off I go.
It’s only been a few weeks since the Virtuplex laboratory opened its physical and virtual doors to the world. The laboratory, powered by digital megafirm Etnetera Group, chose to set up shop in P3 Prague Horní Počernice thanks to its strategic location on the outskirts of the Czech capital, nearby major commerce, automotive and manufacturing hubs. Virtuplex were also after space. Lots of it. Our Class-A warehouses provide a perfect backdrop for the creation of just about any sort of virtual experience.
First off, I transport into a Škoda showroom. There are a few couches and desks scattered around and, as you’d expect, a fleet of top-of-the-range Škoda cars. My colleague has joined the experience and I can see an avatar with her name floating above it. As I wave, I see an outline of my own hand in front of me; a ghostly, though very cool, effect. I approach the nearest car, a black Škoda Kodiaq. Can I open the door? “Not yet, but we’re working on implementing this feature. But you can simply put your head inside,” says Petrovický.
I bend forward and lean into the car’s cockpit. I can see the dashboard, seats, pedals, and steering wheel in high-definition; everything you’d expect from a real car, expect that this one exists only as lines of code which, Martin assures me, can be manipulated and updated at the touch of a button depending on the customer’s wishes. Standing back, I feel an overwhelming urge to do something I probably shouldn’t. I approach the car slowly and, despite my senses screaming “stop,” I step up to the car, and then through it. The feeling is other-worldly. My chest intersects with the car roof and, when I crouch down, I sink through the roof and get the feeling that I’m sitting directly within the car, gazing out at the virtual showroom around me. It’s fun. It strange. It’s wonderfully addictive. I’ll be back!
THE COMMERCIAL BIT
Companies can now lease space at the Virtuplex VR laboratory to develop products or, for example, work on the layout and design of physical spaces.
The laboratory works along similar lines to a film studio, where you can hire the setup and crew you need. “The company first prepares the content—i.e., the design of the environment that it wants to test—and sends it to the laboratory, where professionals modify it for the relevant systems,” Pavel Novák explains.
“Most clients come to us with 3D data of their new space, which is usually provided by the architect,” adds Petrovický, who is also Virtuplex’s CEO. “We take this data and only adjust it a little; we can also provide the architect with assistance during the design phase so that the output is as usable as possible in 3D. Also, if the client wishes to use some objects that don’t already exist in 3D, we can design them. Common furnishings, flowerpots and paintings are available in model banks at moderate prices.
And how long does the entire process take? Every contract is different, depending on the size of the building, but “if you’re looking at the space itself, and not materials or colours, it takes a few hours,” says Martin. “If you’re after a realistic visualisation, it can be a day or two.”
Another advantage is that people meeting in VR don’t need to physically be in one place. “You can have a couple of colleagues here in the hall, a few others in Japan and the boss in New York. Everybody can see and hear one another, and they can interact in the same virtual environment,” Petrovický explains.
Source: P3 Parks
Over the last ten years, the supply of warehouse space in the Wroclaw region has increased by over 240% to reach 1.85 million sq m at the end of 2018. Year by year, the Lower Silesian region is strengthening its position in Central and Eastern Europe, and investors are increasingly locating their businesses in smaller centres in the region, such as Legnica and Bolesławiec. In 2019, demand in the sector should remain stable. However, the challenge will be to maintain the pace of development in the face of a slowdown in the German economy, especially in the automotive industry – AXI IMMO experts inform.
Two developer projects in the north of the country, belonging to our concept of the 7R City Flex Last Mile Logistics city network - 7R City Flex Szczecin and 7R City Flex Gdańsk Airport have been fully leased.
Global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield has represented Displate in their 2,300 sq m plus warehouse and office lease in Hillwood Marki I near Warsaw.
Displate is an e-commerce platform for artists and art lovers across the globe, giving artists an opportunity to showcase their best works of art and our customers to find ideal designs easily. Posters are printed on metal and shipped to customers worldwide. Each poster sold means a commission for the artist, a smile on the customer’s face and ten trees planted - in accordance with Displate's mission to act for environmental regeneration and restoration of the ecological balance.
Hillwood Marki I is an industrial and warehouse park located approximately 15 km from the centre of Warsaw and providing 93,800 sq m. It consists of four modern buildings with LED lighting, dock doors with rubber shelters and hydraulic dock levellers, ramps and drive-in doors providing access to the warehouse floor for delivery vehicles, as well as fork-lift transport between the manoeuvring area and the building, and ample parking spaces for employees and guests. The facility is located near the S8 expressway (Wrocław – Białystok) and the A2 motorway.
“Amid the growing demand for its printing services, Displate decided to expand its business in Poland. Its new, larger Class A space has been tailored to the tenant’s needs to help our client improve production capacity. Displate’s lease at Hillwood Marki I is a classic win-win transaction. The tenant will move into a modern Class A space which was one of key drivers for the choice of the new location. In addition, Hillwood Marki I is located in the immediate vicinity of the tenant’s head office,” said Renata Krzyżanowska, Senior Negotiator, Industrial and Logistics Agency, Cushman & Wakefield.
Źródło: Cushman & Wakefield
Logistics facilities in the heart of Germany’s urban centers seem to be in demand as never before. E-commerce and its promise of fast delivery times is forcing logistics providers to move ever closer to end customers. But suitable sites for inner-city logistics are scarce, and in the battle to win support from local residents and political leaders, these projects face tough competition from other asset classes such as residential or offices. At a press briefing organised by Feldhoff & Cie. in Frankfurt, André Banschus, Executive Director at Verdion, Marcel Crommen, Managing Director at NAI apollo group, and Marius Schöner, Country Head for Germany at CBRE Global Investors talked about the challenges to futureproof logistics facilities and investments.
The participants in the discussion agreed that the industry is still in the process of finding logistics solutions within or near Germany’s major cities. “There are a lot of interesting approaches,” says Crommen of NAI apollo. “The ideas range from the much-talked-about use of delivery drones, to crowd logistics, the night-time use of underground parking garages for redistribution to delivery vehicles, and even the use of shipping containers as local redistribution points.” For example, in a pilot project with the City of Frankfurt, UPS is using a lorry parked near the Frankfurt Stock Exchange as a so-called micro-depot for the distribution of parcels to bicycle couriers. As soon as all the parcels have been distributed to the couriers, the lorry leaves the city and is refilled. “There are no standards for inner-city logistics yet,” adds Crommen.
It is this lack of standards that is holding back institutional investors from engaging in urban logistics. “Investors love products for which certain standards have already been defined, because these standards ensure suitability for other users and thus the liquidity of the assets,” explains Schöner of CBRE Global Investors. “In addition, the ticket sizes involved here are often too small for institutional investors.” Schöner believes, however, that specialists could emerge in this area who – as with the now well-established asset class of student housing – will buy or build individual assets and bundle these into larger portfolios. “Likewise, investment into mixed-use real estate projects including a logistics component is also likely to grow.” Among the specific opportunities that he sees are vacant department stores and shopping centers with structural vacancies in Germany’s inner cities.
One logistics product that has already made it onto investors’ acquisition lists are cross-docking facilities on the outskirts of big cities. “Even though these trans-shipment centers are, in some cases, quite specifically tailored to the needs of the respective tenant, the desirable near-city location means that alternative users can be quickly found, so that investors can count on third-party usability,” explains Schöner.
While the boom in the logistics industry is undisputed, Banschus of Verdion questions the general future viability of the concept of delivering goods to homes within just hours. “It makes more sense to have, for example, depots in city business districts, where customers can pick up their parcels on their way home from work.” His own experience is that more and more logistics operations are being forced out of inner cities. An example of this is Imperial, a specialist in chemical logistics, which for 40 years operated a logistics centre on a long-term leasehold property in Münster’s river port, right near the city centre. “In recent years, as the city’s port area was redeveloped to house high-priced residential properties and posh restaurants, Imperial had to give way,” says Banschus. The city gave notice of termination of the leasehold, offering the company a new site located outside of the city. Meanwhile DeLaval, the giant dairy solutions provider previously based in Hamburg, searched in vain for ten years to find a suitable plot within the city’s boundaries for its new European distribution centre. “Unsuccessfully, as it turned out,” says Banschus. “In the end, we constructed a new building for DeLaval in Gallin, 50 km to the east of Hamburg.” With the move came the challenge of convincing as many employees as possible to stay with the company. “For almost all companies, in logistics or any other business, proximity to potential employees is far more important than proximity to end customers,” explains Banschus. “The balancing act between availability of space and availability of staff is a major challenge for the industry.”
Schöner is calling for cities to develop master plans for logistics, “just as there is, for example a building plan for all the high-rise towers in Frankfurt,” he adds. “For a working system for distribution and delivery within big cities, a similar solution is needed for logistics. Until this happens, we will remain in a phase of experimentation, in which many things are not yet fully developed.” Crommen also pleads for higher delivery costs: "If delivery services were priced appropriately, logistics providers would be able to pay the rental costs for these inner-city locations.”
About CBRE Global Investors
CBRE Global Investors is a global real asset investment management firm with $104.2 billion in assets under management* as of March 31, 2018. The firm sponsors investment programs across the risk/return spectrum for investors worldwide. CBRE Global Investors is an independently operated affiliate of CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE). It harnesses the research, investment sourcing and other resources of the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2017 revenue) for the benefit of its investors. CBRE Group, Inc. has more than 80,000 employees (excluding affiliates) and serves real estate investors and occupiers through approximately 450 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. For more information about CBRE Global Investors, please visit www.cbreglobalinvestors.com. *Assets under management (AUM) refers to the fair market value of real asset-related investments with respect to which CBRE Global Investors provides, on a global basis, oversight, investment management services and other advice and which generally consist of investments in real assets; equity in funds and joint ventures; securities portfolios; operating companies and real assetrelated loans. This AUM is intended principally to reflect the extent of CBRE Global Investors' presence in the global real asset market, and its calculation of AUM may differ from the calculations of other asset managers.
About NAI apollo group
NAI apollo group represents a network of individual, entrepreneurial and independent partner companies. The partner network takes an interdisciplinary approach and, with its team of 200 specialists, operates both nationally and internationally in the office, industrial, residential and retail property classes. Partners of NAI apollo group in Germany are corealis Commercial Real Estate GmbH (Dusseldorf), Cubion Immobilien AG (Mulheim an der Ruhr), Kasten-Mann Real Estate Advisors GmbH & Co. KG (Berlin), Larbig & Mortag Immobilien GmbH (Cologne/Bonn), NAI apollo real estate (Frankfurt am Main, Munich), Objekta Real Estate Solutions GmbH (Ulm), Strategpro Real Estate GmbH (Mannheim) and Völckers & Cie Immobilien GmbH (Hamburg).
About Verdion
Verdion is a leading European real estate investor, developer and asset manager of industrial and logistics property. Verdion provides new buildings for Europe’s leading logistics, e-tailing and industrial companies on a full design and financed basis. The company also acquires and controls large areas of strategic development land to meet the needs of its client partners. Verdion’s European portfolio has an investment value of circa €1 billion. The company has a further development pipeline of some 10 million sq ft (930,000 sq m). Verdion was founded by Michael Hughes in January 2010. Headquartered in London, Verdion also has offices in Düsseldorf and Malmö.
About Feldhoff & Cie.
As the leading consultancy for the property industry, Feldhoff & Cie. GmbH offers comprehensive services across three specialised corporate divisions: business development, communications and event & congress management. The company sets itself apart through its extensive and resilient network with excellent ties to diverse players in the property industry as well as politics and society. Since its foundation in 2003 in Frankfurt, the firm has grown continuously and now has over 20 employees working on behalf of its clients. Feldhoff & Cie focuses on the development of well-grounded, differentiating as well as attractive strategies and activities in order to gain tangible economic results and a competitive edge for its clients.
Managing Partner at ONLINE REAL ASSETS - Digital Real Estate Company
This is a first for the global commerce giant: Online real estate sales at Amazon.es. The Spanish developer Altamira has put up for sale about a hundred houses and apartments in Madrid, Barcelona and on the Mediterranean coast.
The site allows the direct connection with a seller, but not yet the online purchase of the house. The proponent states that the first sales have already been made.
Altamira AM is a real estate company, a subsidiary of the US investment fund Apollo. Its wealth in Spain is over 50 billion euros. This initiative is clearly the first step in a plan to rapidly increase the proponent's online real estate sales.
Amazon.es is more shy about other real estate ads, as they are only present through links to the Trovit and Holapisos ad sites.
We know that Amazon, like other Gafa, is very interested in real estate: tests were conducted in the United States in 2017. This Spanish initiative is probably in a much more ambitious vision for real estate.
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