GARBE Acquires 71,000 sqm Distribution Centre in Dutch Logistics Hotspot Breda for ca €70 Million

News 13/09/2021

• GARBE has acquired a new distribution centre in the vicinity of Breda in the southern Netherlands for one of its funds
• The distribution centre is part of Business Centre Treeport, a new 62-hectare business park targeting the tree cultivation sector
• 25,000 sqm is pre-let to the BCT Treehub cooperative

Amsterdam,  September 6th, 2021 – GARBE Industrial Real Estate Netherlands has acquired a 71,000 sqm logistics development in the vicinity of Breda, a logistics ‘hotspot’ close to the Belgian border, for around €70 million. The asset was purchased on behalf of one of GARBE’s investment funds, GARBE Logistikimmobilien Fonds Plus II “GLIF+II”. The final transaction price is contingent on occupancy at completion and handover by the developer/builder Bouwbedrijf Vrolijk in early 2022.

Maurits Smit, Managing Director GARBE Industrial Real Estate Netherlands, said: “Very high demand for warehouse space in the Dutch logistics market is being met by insufficient new high-quality supply, resulting in rental growth and ongoing yield compression. The asset we have acquired near Breda is located in one of the top logistics ’hotspots’ in the Netherlands, with excellent accessibility to the major ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp and the entire Benelux region. Owing to the lack of available space in the region we anticipate rapid tenant uptake of the remaining units in the coming months.”

The highly sustainable state-of-the-art logistics facility lies close to the A16 motorway which links the northeast of Rotterdam to the Belgian border near Hazeldonk. The asset comprises four units, making it suitable for single or multi-tenant use. Two of the units, totalling approximately 25,000 sqm, are let to BCT Treehub on a long-term lease.

The logistics warehouse is the first asset to be developed at the Business Centre  Treeport (BCT), a 62-hectare business park created to foster and boost collaboration in the tree cultivation sector in the surrounding Rijsbergen area. The region  is one of the leading locations in Europe for arboriculture. BCT Treehub is a cooperative consisting of 115 tree nurseries, suppliers, consultants and other companies associated with the sector as well as being a co-founder of Business Centre Treeport.

The transaction is the second in the Dutch market for the GLIF+II investment vehicle secured by the Amsterdam-based industrial real estate team at GARBE Netherlands It follows the acquisition of a 41,000 sqm distribution centre at Veenendaal on the A12 motorway corridor to the east of Utrecht, which is another established Dutch logistics region. GARBE expects to finalise new transactions in the Netherlands for the fund in coming months. The fund is also open to new propositions.

A recent study by GARBE’s research department shows that rental prices for prime logistics assets in the Netherlands have increased significantly, particularly in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Regional locations such as Eindhoven, Venlo and Tilburg have likewise reported sharp hikes in rental levels. Rising rents are typical for the current logistics market due to the scarcity of high-quality properties. Strong demand and rental growth are also driving the emergence of new logistics zones across the country, particularly in the northern and eastern areas around Almere, Zwolle, and Deventer/Enschede as well as the central Tiel/Geldermalsen and western Waddinxveen regions.

GARBE sees opportunities in these up-and-coming areas and has therefore created its own logistics development team headed by Jouke Kist, Head of Development Netherlands. The team is targeting new locations in established and emerging regions, but is also looking at redevelopment opportunities – or brownfields – in existing locations. This includes both build-to-suit and speculative developments, and GARBE is currently working on a number of such projects.

In addition to its own (re)developments, GARBE is also keen to team up with developers and builders. In 2020, GARBE acquired a newly-built distribution centre at the Stichtsekant business park in Almere from a developer/builder partnership between Hercuton and Remco Ruimtebouw. The property has a total surface area of 34,400 sqm and is fully let to service providers LIS Logistics and Geodis Netherlands since the handover in April this year.

According to GARBE’s research, the boom in e-commerce is fuelling the big expansion in the Dutch industrial/logistics investment market which has generated +7% annual growth between 2016 and 2020. Other strong demand factors are also playing a part in underpinning the robust market conditions, such as UK companies actively relocating their distribution facilities to the Netherlands since Brexit in order to stay within the EU’s Customs Union, the GARBE report concluded. Recent increases in container shipping prices and growing demand for (production) facilities within Europe are two other trends that GARBE is monitoring closely.

Drees & Sommer acted as technical advisor for GARBE Industrial on the Breda transaction while Greenberg Traurig provided legal counsel. Bouwbedrijf Vrolijk was legally advised by Schaap Advocaten & Notarissen and commercially by De Lobel & Partners – real estate experts who also took care of lease negotiations with BCT Treehub.