Panattoni Europe tops the volume charts
Having developed 2.71 million square meters of space between 2014 and 2016, Panattoni Europe is the biggest developer of industrial real estate in Europe. The company obviously had a banner year in Poland in 2016, but CEO Robert Dobrzycki says it's the company's push into Western Europe, in particular Germany, that's pushed it over the edge. "For us, Poland is still the largest market but the German side of the business is growing significantly and helped us get to the number one position," he says, adding that Panattoni was number two in terms of volume on that market. He says that while Germany may look like a mature market, its sheer size and the structure of the market made it a clear candidate for expansion. "Size-wise and growth-wise and with the Central Europe synergies, it was a logical choice for us. "If you're building a European platform in Europe you have to be in Germany. It's the largest market in Europe and the bestlocated for logistics. It's diversified, you have production, consumption, you have ports, you're in the middle of Europe, you serve yourself and the other countries out of Germany." he admits the margins aren't as attractive as they are in Central Europe, but claims that with Panattoni Europe's focus on volume, this is less of an issue than it might be for others. In addition, a substantial portion of all industrial development in Germany is carried out by regional players. "So we felt if we come with a volume orientation and try to to be a pan European player in all of the markets we can maintain positive momentum there. That's proved to be true."What's different about the opportunities in Germany is that many of them turn out to be brownfields, as the availability of land where construction permits for industrial space can be achieved is limited.
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