Goodman goes to war

POLAND Goodman Poland has finalised a contract with Amica Wronki for the latter to lease a warehouse in Buk in Wielkoposlka province. This would not be anything extraordinary if it were not for the fact that the company is to occupy as much as 30,000 sqm - an area not to be sneezed at in the current economic climate. The hall will serve as the national central distribution centre for Amica, which has its main production plant in Wronki. The household appliances manufacturer has decided to consolidate its warehouses in one hall. In the first stage a hall is to be built for Amica as well as another 20,000 sqm, with the construction work to start in April or May next year. The developer is currently negotiating other leasing contracts for the same area. "We have a reserve of land in Poznań, so we can confidently say that signing the Amica Wronki contract marks the beginning of what is to be called the Poznań Logistics Centre. An area of 100,000 sqm could eventually be built for this complex," claims Błażej Ciesielczak, the managing director of Goodman Poland. The launch of the second stage of the project (50,000 sqm) is to depend on the progress of the leasing of the first one.
Not only Amica
Another contract that will contribute to the development of a new logistics park has been signed with Philips Lighting. The company has leased 9,200 sqm in Pabianice outside Łódź, which should result in the construction of a warehouse park with an area of 27,000 sqm. Goodman has already secured a building permit for the construction of the whole facility, which is to be located near the Pabianice ring road. One building is planned which could be divided into smaller units. "There is evidently a lot of interest in this type of project. We appreciate our cooperation with the local authorities very much, as they are able to offer interesting incentives to investors. An additional asset for tenants opting for this location is the large supply of labour from Pabianice as well as the proximity of Łódź," adds Mr Ciesielczak. The company currently has an area of 160,000 sqm in its portfolio, with another 160,000 sqm now under construction. New projects are also underway in Opole, Legnica, Wrocław, Poznań, Łódź and Kraków. Most have been fully leased to one tenant, but only the Kraków project contains a small speculative section. And Kraków Airport Logistics Centre has also gained a new tenant: logistics operator DB Schenker has leased the third warehouse in the park, which has an area of over 6,550 sqm. Work on the construction of the facility is already pending, with the project scheduled for completion next May. A ten-year leasing contract has been signed between the two companies.
Pioneering spirit
The company currently offers space in warehouse parks in all the main Polish regions except for Silesia and Szczecin. Goodman owns land with a total area of 210 ha for future projects, on which more than 950,000 sqm of warehouse space could be built. These plots are located in Gdańsk, Wrocław, Kraków, Warsaw, Toruń, Łódź and Poznań. However, Goodman wants to be present where it still does not have any warehouses, and so next year it plans to buy sites in Lublin, Rzeszów and Szczecin. The company intends to build an area of between 200,000 sqm and 300,000 sqm in 2012, in an investment in the region of EUR 70-120 mln. Negotiations are now in progress over the purchase of more plots. "We are currently thinking about two speculative purchases. I believe this is something of a pioneering move these days. A developer rarely buys land without signing agreements with clients earlier. The plots in question have areas of 5 ha to 20 ha and are located in Silesia and Poznań. I think that we will finalise the purchases at the end of January or early February next year. An area of up to 100,000 sqm could possibly be built on this land," reveals Błażej Ciesielczak. The company has little to worry about in terms of financing such acquisitions or new projects, as it is backed by the Goodman European Logistics Fund, which launched a EUR 400 mln rights issue this autumn and is now actively investing in the Polish market.
Zuzanna Wiak