Re-defining the market

Robert Dobrzycki, the CEO of Panattoni Europe: Redefine wants to build a large logistics platform in Poland. Panattoni will be the developer of these facilities and will manage them together with Griffin. It’s all the more interesting that we are dealing with a long-term investor. So we will be managing the platform for a long time.

How long?

The investment horizon of short term funds is typically up to five years. It will be longer than that. How many years exactly? It depends on the investor’s strategy.

Is Panattoni acting here as a co- investor or as a so-called fee developer?

We are not a fee developer. When building the logistics platform together with Redefine – just as we do when we carry out our own projects – we will deal with them comprehensively, by also investing in the development process and thus participating in the potential investment returns.

How long will it take to build a platform worth EUR 800 mln?

According to the plan – three years. However, I expect that two years would be all that is needed for us.

What types of buildings will be included in this platform?

This is definitely a logistics platform but there is no classified product type other than those that are attractive to investors. We are definitely talking about long-term product and this covers a wide range of possibilities.

How much of Panattoni’s activities will the construction of this platform consume? A half? More than that?

It’s difficult to say for sure at the moment because we are at the beginning of this undertaking. Panattoni Europe is a pan-European company, and this is an exclusively Polish programme. Nevertheless, it will be quite a substantial part. But it must be added that it will be just one of the paths that we will follow in the near future.

Is there room on the market for another platform like this?

Certainly not for another similar one. This is an exceptional platform because it is to be large, long term and built in a short time. It will add greater liquidity to the Polish market. Why? Because it will put a brake on some of the supply that would normally hit the market. Therefore, there will be less product on the market, and hence it will become relatively more desirable for investors.

And what will change for Panattoni itself?

Certainly our property management department will expand even more.

This is not the only large Panattoni venture that has announced recently. You are also promising to invest EUR 1.2 bln in city logistics. Does this programme somehow overlap with the construction of the platform for Redefine?

It may overlap here and there, but these are separate investment plans.

As I understand it, both city logistics and large Amazon boxes can be built for the Redefine platform?

They can. We are not mainly concerned with the type of product but with the idea that this platform should be actively and well managed.

You have said that Panattoni intends to invest EUR 400 mln a year on city logistics. How much of this will go to Poland?

There is no exact allocation for each country. It will be allocated as the opportunities arise on whichever market. We assume that there will be at least EUR 100 mln per year for Polish projects. However, it could be more because of the market dynamics and our position here.

Which cities would be the best locations for the development of city logistics?

Wherever there is the consumer potential in the long run. All larger cities that have such potential will sooner or later be suitable for city logistics. The e-commerce market is not so well developed yet. However, it is still growing strongly. With its development, smaller cities will be more and more attractive for this segment. In my opinion there is the investment potential for city logistics in all cities of over 100,000 inhabitants.

And the remaining markets of Central and Eastern Europe?

That will be the Czech Republic and Slovakia for us. There are great opportunities in those markets, of course, but it is more difficult to execute this type of investment and more time-consuming. That’s why Poland will certainly have the largest share in our part of Europe.