Panattoni Europe, the Hamburg logistics real estate developer and the LOGISTIS Fund, managed by AEW Europe, is building a new logistics centre on a site in Düsseldorf with a total area of 117,000 m². This project is the outcome of intensive planning and co-ordination between the Stadtwerke Düsseldorf, the owner of the site, Neuss-Düsseldorf Häfen, the owner of the container terminal, logistics service provider BLG LOGISTICS, the leaseholder, Panattoni and AEW and the logistics property specialist Logivest who provided assistance and advice throughout the negotiations.
This site is especially attractive due to its size, excellent connections to all modes of transport and the location directly opposite the RheinCargo container terminal. The developer acquired the site in the port of Düsseldorf from the Stadtwerke Düsseldorf on a leasehold basis. Logistics service provider BLG has already concluded a long-term lease agreement for part of the site and will be conducting business there especially for their customers in the automobile industry.
In the first construction phase, a logistics facility leased by BLG will be built on a ground area of about 71,000 m². The facility will have three halls and a total of 32,000 m² of usable floor space and 600 m² of mezzanine floors. In addition, a further 1,000 m² will be used for offices, social and technical spaces. The logistics facility will be designed to cater specifically for the requirements of BLG and its customers. It also provides 5,000 additional square metres of outdoor space. The complex will fulfil all requirements for handling and dispatching long trucks and allows lateral loading and unloading under overhanging roofs. The organisational and technical security measures are also a special feature of BLG's new logistics centre. These include a central reporting office with a double barrier system and the guiding of the vehicle to the appropriate gate, perimeter fencing, video surveillance of the building and the site, and an access control system for all doors and gates.
Rainer Pennekamp, chairman of Stadtwerke Düsseldorf AG, is delighted that the old coal storage yard by Lausward power station is being revitalised. "This site was no longer needed for operation, but very attractive and close to the power station. We gave intensive consideration to the question of who we wanted to give it to. The new logistics centre will be an important signal for the industrial location and port of Düsseldorf."
This is the second project that Panattoni and AEW have developed for BLG following the new BLG logistics facility in Bremen's Cargo Distribution Centre . "This project enables us to continue our good co-operation with BLG in Düsseldorf. The equipment and quality of the facility will comply with the latest standards and fulfil the individual requirements of BLG. About 60,000 m² of modern logistics space will be created in two construction phases," explains Fred-Markus Bohne, Managing Partner of Panattoni Europe.
In this facility, BLG will carry out international logistics operations for the nearby plant of a large German car manufacturer as well as for other customers in industry. Frank Sturm, CEO of BLG Industrielogistik GmbH & Co. KG, commented on the settlement of BLG in Düsseldorf, "For BLG the new trimodal location with its outstanding harbour infrastructure is a further important step which reinforces our network and offers new possibilities for the logistics of our customers. The region will benefit from the creation and safeguarding of jobs in the three-digit range."
Rainer Schäfer, CEO of Neuss-Düsseldorfer Häfen GmbH & Co. KG, is proud of the new addition. "The co-operation between all those involved was very constructive. This is reflected in the positive and highly efficient result. The location in the port of Düsseldorf allows us to use the existing logistical infrastructure for the worldwide flow of our partners' goods."
Kuno Neumeier, CEO of the Munich consultancy company Logivest GmbH who acted as advisors to the different parties regarding the business settlement and lease negotiations, sums it up, "We need more logistic areas of this size and with transport connections like these in Germany. The co-operation of all partners in this project - the public utility company, the city, the port, the developer and investor as well as the leaseholder - shows how logistics settlement projects can succeed."
About BLG LOGISTICS
BLG LOGISTICS GROUP AG & Co. KG provides 16,000 jobs worldwide in 100 locations. With its three operating divisions for automobile, contract and container logistics the group generated a sales revenue of 883 million euros in 2014 and reported pre-tax earnings of 30.1 million euros. In the field of automobile and container logistics, BLG is the market leader in Europe, with 7.4 million vehicles, respectively 14.8 million standard containers (TEU). The company is also one of the leading logistics service providers in Germany for contract logistics.
About AEW Europe/LOGISTIS
AEW Europe is part of the global real estate group AEW. The AEW Group is one of the largest real estate asset management companies worldwide and is responsible for 40 billion euros of assets under management in Europe, the USA and Asia (30th September 2014). The company employs a team of about 500 staff worldwide. The company's main offices are in Boston, London, Paris and Singapore and it has 10 more branches in nine other countries. AEW Europe currently has 9 offices in Europe with more than 270 employees working on different Core, Value-Add and Opportunity funds and managing real estate assets of more than 18.2 billion euros (30 th September 2014). Formed in 1999, LOGISTIS is a European Core Logistics Fund with a long-term investment strategy. It is one of the largest logistics platforms in Europe. For its institutional investors, LOGISTIS manages 70 logistics properties throughout Europe with a total usable space of more than 1.8 million square metres. About Neuss-Düsseldorfer Häfen
As a trimodal intersection, the Neuss Düsseldorfer Häfen have become an important logistics hub in central Europe and the industrial region of North Rhine-Westphalia. They are a central contact partner for logistics, trade and industry. The company group comprises the public inland ports between Cologne and Krefeld and one of the largest private rail freight companies in Germany with nationwide and Europe-wide connections.
About Logivest
Logivest GmbH has its main office in Munich and specialises in consultancy and marketing of logistics real estate and locations in Germany. The company provides services concerning leasing, transaction consulting and new development. Logivest's sister company, Logivest Concept, specialises in the analysis of logistics locations and infrastructure facilities, development of utilisation concepts and positioning as well as site marketing and sales support. In addition, Logivest Concept advises logistics companies about the re-organisation of business processes or decisions related to company acquisitions.
