Prologis’ European business has posted a 11.1% rise in leasing activity at the end of its 2020 financial year, with robust rental growth predicted for the UK and northern Europe markets.
During the year Prologis added some 36.1m sq ft to its European operating and development portfolio, comprising 9.7m sq ft of new letting deals and nearly 28m sq ft of renewals.
This total was up 11.1% on the previous year, and representing a 12.8% rent change. Occupancy for the full year stood at 96.7%.
There were 21 development starts in 2020, measuring a combined 5.6m sq ft. Of this, 73.1% was build-to-suit.
Prologis bought 25 properties and 14 land plots over the course of the year and disposed of 34 buildings and four land parcels.
The latter included the sale of its Platform portfolio to Blackstone in Q4 for £473m, which consisted of around 4.3m sq ft across 22 properties and 31 acres of consented development land in the UK.
In an earnings call, Prologis chief financial officer Thomas Olinger outlined expectations for 2.5% rental growth in the European market this year, led by the UK and Northern Europe.
“The implications of Brexit have been largely positive for us as we anticipated four years ago and [when] Brexit was first announced,” Olinger said. He also predicts higher inventory levels in both the UK and the continent, on the back of “inventory disaggregation”.
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