OFFICE AND LOGISTICS SEGMENTS KEY IN ATTRACTING FOREIGN INVESTMENT TO BARCELONA AND CATALONIA

• Barcelona Catalonia is offering 2 million m2 of land for industrial and logistics use and more than 3 million m2 of offices in the best locations and with the best possible transport communications in Barcelona and Catalonia
• From 10 to 13 March, the Government of Catalonia and the Barcelona City Council will be promoting these spaces at Mipim2015, the top real estate fair in the world, held in Cannes
• A dozen strategic projects will be presented, including highlights like Parc de l’Alba –home to the largest science and technology park in southern Europe, La Sagrera and the Smart City Campus (22@)

The reactivation of the office and logistics market in Barcelona and Catalonia has been confirmed over the past year. Barcelona Catalonia aims to consolidate this trend and further attract foreign investors at the Mipim real estate fair, which is underway now through Friday 13 March at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes. It is one of the main events in the sector in Europe and expects to attract 2,225 exhibitors from 93 countries and 21,000 visitors this year.

The Barcelona Catalonia booth at the fair gives investors a global overview of the main urban-development projects associated with the knowledge economy underway in Barcelona and its surroundings. Under the umbrella of the Barcelona Catalonia initiative, the Government of Catalonia (through INCASÒL) and the Barcelona City Council are offering 2 million m2 of land for industrial and logistics use and more than 3 million m2 of offices in unbeatable locations with great transport connections.

In total, Barcelona Catalonia will present a dozen projects at Mipim, all of which are aimed at encouraging innovative activities, economic growth through investigation, research and new technology, strategic transport hubs and business parks. Some examples include La Sagrera, Parc de l’Alba, Smart City Campus (22@), Marina del Prat Vermell, Can Sant Joan, Mas Blau, Ripollet Park, Palau-Solità i Plegamans-Santa Perpètua de la Mogoda and Can n’Alemany.

Particularly noteworthy is Parc de l’Alba, which offers new investment opportunities, with1.5 million m2 of floor space for a variety of economic activities, including retail, industry, logistics and residential. It is one of Catalonia’s strategic projects and one of the most cutting-edge scientific, technological and business platforms in Europe, with the capacity to create 40,000 highly qualified jobs.

Barcelona Catalonia will also participate in various forums and events, as well as taking meetings with international investors and institutional representatives from the cities and regions participating in the fair.

All of this will help promote the development of strategic new projects for a new city and country model that is closely tied to the knowledge economy, as well as positioning Barcelona and Catalonia as innovation hubs, promoting new real estate development, encouraging international foreign capital investment and attracting cutting-edge companies.

Office and logistics market in Catalonia attracts investors

The market for office space in the city of Barcelona definitively took off in 2014, closing out the year with a total investment that was significantly higher than that seen the previous year. Specifically, investment in this segment was up 56%, for a total of 777 million euros.

This figure made up more than half of all real estate investment in Barcelona in 2014, which totaled 1,314 million euros. This data was published in the report compiled by real estate consultancy CBRE, which it presented recently. The report also highlights the increased floor space of the offices being invested in, up 42%.

Additionally, leasing of logistics space is up both in total floor space and in number of operations; the vacancy rate is down; net leasing is up significantly by companies in the logistics sector and, for the first time in five years, there are new developments underway for logistics warehouses, according to real estate consultancy Estrada & Partners.

Specifically, according to the latest data, cumulative leasing of logistics space in 2014 totaled 312,056m², up 15.28% from 2013, confirming the beginning of the recovery of the logistics sector.

For more information:
Anna Palasí (a_palasi@gencat.cat)
Isabel Ponti (iponti@bcn.cat)