Panattoni enters the Netherlands

Panattoni, market leader in industrial real estate in Europe, enters another market in the Old Continent. Starting from December 2019, the developer is launching its first office in the Netherlands – the second largest warehouse market in Europe. It will be headed by Jeroen Gerritsen as Managing Director.

Panattoni with a green light in the Netherlands. Following its successful ventures in Poland, Germany, the United Kingdom, Czechia and Slovakia, Panattoni has decided to expand into another market. The new destination is the Netherlands – the second largest logistics market in Europe, after Germany. In mid-2019, the total warehouse and industrial space exceeded 31 million sqm (compared to 69 million sqm in Germany). “The Netherlands is a very important logistics market. Rotterdam is the largest seaport in our continent, serving all of Europe. We understand that the Dutch market is mature. Still, I am convinced that we will find our niche in it. For instance, we can focus on brownfield projects, developed on post-industrial or industrial sites – explains Robert Dobrzycki, Chief Executive Officer Europe, speaking of the new destination for expansion.

The Dutch logistics market relies primarily on its excellent infrastructure with more than 139,000 km of roads, including 2,800 km of motorways. With such an extensive motorway network, the Netherlands ranks seventh in Europe. There are also 6,800 km of railways and 5,000 km of waterways. To complete the picture, add to that 4 seaports led by Rotterdam (reloading 467 million tons of cargo) and four international airports.
As of now, the total warehouse and industrial space in the Netherlands has exceeded 31 million square metres. Investments in logistics assets are driven by the low vacancy rates and developer activity in the warehouse market breaks record after record. Some 1.3 million sqm of space was built in H1 2019, a further 2.3 million sqm are under construction, and as much as 3.4 million sqm planned. The majority of projects manage to find tenants before the construction works are completed.

The Dutch arm of Panattoni will be led by Jeroen Gerritsen, who will take up the post of Managing Director. He has been in the real estate business since 2001 and has a keen eye for creating opportunity. “It’s all about having the creativity and stamina to get things done – says Jeroen Gerritsen - in finding the right answers to challenges in relation to the environment and scarcity of land is where we will need to excel. Paving the way for our clients so they can focus on their business. I’m looking forward to picking up these challenges together with the ambitious Panattoni team.” Panattoni Netherlands will open its office in Amsterdam as of the 1st of December 2019.

Panattoni Europe is part of the Panattoni Development Company, one of the largest industrial developers in the world, with 26 offices in North America and Europe. Panattoni has been present in Central Europe since 2005. To date, the developer has delivered 8.5 million sqm of modern industrial space altogether in Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany. A dedicated department responding to individual tenants’ needs – build-to-suit projects – is also located within the Panattoni Europe structure. Among key tenants are companies such as Amazon, Arvato Services Polska, Coty Cosmetics, DSV, H&M, Intermarché, Leroy Merlin, ND Logistics, Still, Schenker, Selgros and Tesco. Apart from Poland, Panattoni Europe has offices in the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg and Germany.