Belgian logistics property developer Warehouses de Pauw (WDP) plans to invest €75 million in four properties on three different sites in Romania by the end of 2019.
WDP announced investment volume of around €75 million, amounting to some 130,000 sqm in property, both through new development projects and through acquisitions for existing and new clients. On completion, this new investment package will bring the total property portfolio to around €450 million, with projected portfolio investment growth approaching €500 million (or 15% of the total WDP property portfolio) by late 2019.
On its existing site in Stefanestii de Jos near Bucharest, WDP is breaking ground on two new warehouses totalling around 80,000 sqm. These buildings will be developed on the parcel purchased in late 2017. On the one hand, WDP will develop a new food logistics warehouse for Metro totalling 58,000 sqm. The building will be delivered in phases starting in early 2020 and consists of both a non-temperature-controlled warehouse and a refrigerated and frozen storage space for food distribution. Metro is signing on to a long-term ten-year lease for this site. In addition, a new distribution centre for development of over 22,000 sqm, slated for delivery during Q2 2019, will accommodate the e-commerce activities of clothing specialist LPP. LPP will lease this new warehouse for a period of ten years. WDP forecasts an investment budget of approx. €43 million for these projects.
WDP is also acquiring an existing warehouse of around 33,000 sqm in Cluj-Napoca. The lease with Profi has a remaining duration of ten years. This acquisition further expands this retailer’s partnership with WDP, following the previous commissioning of a new refrigerated distribution centre on this site. After all, this is where the supermarket chain Profi is centralising its retail service for fruit and vegetables for the Transylvania region. In addition, Profi is leasing another newly built warehouse from WDP in Roman. This acquisition will also make WDP the owner of the entire logistics park in Cluj-Napoca (nearly 70,000 sqm), and the party responsible for park management. Logistics service providers Arcese and KLG have a WDP property here as well. The investment budget for this acquisition amounts to approx. €22 million.
Finally, WDP is announcing the construction of a new warehouse for Ursus Breweries, one of the largest breweries in Romania. Ursus Breweries will use the site in Buzau, located to the northeast of Bucharest, to supply its clients in the capital. The new distribution centre, spanning approx. 20,000 sqm, is located next to the existing brewery and will be leased for a period of ten years. The investment budget for WDP comes to approx. €10 million.
