Ignacio García Cuenca leads the Australian real estate logistics group Goodman in Spain, which has just won the Free Zone Consortium tender to manage the space occupied by Nissan. He has done it in alliance with the so-called decarbonization hub, which will contribute the industrial part, in parallel to the development of the logistics project.
How do you assess the solution achieved for Nissan?
It has been a success, with great collaboration between the public administrations, the Consorci de la Zona Franca, the unions, the hub and Goodman. We have all rowed in the same direction with a project that allows us to respond to the needs of Barcelona in the industrial field, because for me logistics is one more part of the industrial field. A local company has been found, which will hire Nissan workers and which has been able to access funds from Perte. The Next Generation funds are there to be used, and Goodman has counter-guaranteed the banks so that the hub could dispose of them.
But hasn't a lot of time been wasted by ruling out a logistical option for the land?
From minute one, work has been done on reindustrialization. For this reason, Goodman proposed a mixed solution from the beginning, taking into account that the industry must be the basis of this transformation. The land is very large, more than 500,000 square meters, although we rent 416,000 because the rest is kept by Silence and the Nissan technical center. It is a very large plot, which will go from a single operator to four or five, with the hub, Silence and those that Goodman will bring, other logistics or industrial operators.
What investment do you foresee?
In the tender specifications a minimum of 100 million is set for the industrial part, which logically we comply with. But much more is required, for the industrial part, the logistics and the common parts. The hub is already working on fine-tuning, for example, the paint part needs to be adapted, and starting to recruit. In the end, the investment will depend on what we do there. In the logistics part, multilevel warehouses are going to be built. It is the third project of this type that we carry out in Catalonia, after the ones in Molins de Rei and Castellbisbal. It is a system that has already been tested and proven, which allows you to make the most of the space possible. To this day, we are the only ones in Spain with class A multi-storey warehouses, with the standards that are now required for logistics projects. There are other warehouses on two levels, but much smaller and without access for trucks.
How many meters are we talking about for logistics in the Nissan space?
We calculate some 135,000 meters built in logistics warehouses. It seems like a very high figure, but seeing the needs that exist today in Barcelona and taking into account that last year more than 400,000 square meters were absorbed in Catalonia, we can think that in a year the entire surface could be occupied. It is a great opportunity for the Port of Barcelona, which has been demanding logistics land for some time. We hope to attract large companies that operate in the port, such as shipping companies, retailers... It is a space that will allow us to respond to the needs of e-commerce or delivery. It is also an opportunity for the airport.
Regarding global investment, it has always been suggested that it could be 300 or 400 million. Does this forecast hold?
I cannot give a figure because it all depends on the projects we carry out, on the investments that the hub ultimately needs. The hub has kept the machinery and Nissan warehouses to manufacture, and the logistics projects will be developed in parallel. Depending on one project or another, more or less investment will be required.
The hub is still an experiment, an untested project. Has Goodman introduced any precautions to be able to dispose of the space freely if the hub fails? Or will we have to look for another industrial partner?
The hub is made up of two established companies, BTech and QEV. The project is very ambitious, it is well studied and it is the key to reindustrialization. The scenario that we are now contemplating is that it works, that it starts running soon, hires, manufactures and sells electric vehicles. We do not contemplate another scenario. we don't see it right now. It is only contemplated that it works.
How much has Goodman contributed to fund the hub?
We have signed a series of agreements to facilitate its implementation, which has less investment at the beginning and more when it is working.
Is Goodman going to hire people from Nissan?
No, that will be done by the hub . In any case, logistics is a great generator of employment. Last year the sector had more than one million employees and it is estimated that between 6 and 7 jobs are generated for every 1,000 square meters in a standard space. When we talk about slightly more sophisticated logistics, with automation processes, this ratio can be multiplied by three. Today's logistics create increasingly sophisticated employment.
Is it a sector that has been revalued?
With the pandemic, citizens have realized its importance, that it is extremely necessary to have a good supply chain. Logistics is no longer the ugly duckling of the real estate sector and already represents 6.9% of GDP.
How many companies could settle in the logistics space that they prepare in the Free Zone?
We consider about three or four. And if we focus on activities related to the port of Barcelona, which require very large surfaces, it could be that a single operator covers almost the entire project.
How did they manage to be the only candidate to keep the space?
As soon as we received the bidding documents, it was clear to us that the best way to win the tender was in alliance with the hub. We already knew the area and the Consorci de la Zona Franca because we have three warehouses there, where Amazon and Mercadona operate.
Is the Nissan one the most important investment of Goodman in Spain?
It is one of the most important, although right now in Catalonia we have more than 240,000 square meters of land in prime areas in Barcelona, Viladecans, Mollet and Montcada. They are projects that are in different urban phases and that will be able to provide approximately 250,000 square meters of constructed area. Therefore, the free zone is an important project, but the projects that we are currently developing in parallel are going to generate equally important surfaces.
Do you notice a slowdown in the market?
Yes. The rise in interest rates, the war, the increase in the cost of raw materials and construction costs generate uncertainty. There are important projects that are now a bit on hold. And when it comes to renting surfaces, companies are cautious. Even so, Spain is being one of the countries in Europe that is responding best and the data on supply absorption, with a rise in 2022 of 41% in Madrid and 21% in Barcelona, demonstrate this.
