ProLogis Pre-Leases 269,000 Square Feet in Sweden to Schenker Logistics
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Nov. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ProLogis (NYSE: PLD), the world's largest owner, manager and developer of distribution facilities, announced today that it has pre-leased 269,000 square feet (25,000 square meters) of distribution space near Stockholm, Sweden, to Schenker Logistics, a leading provider of third-party logistics services and subsidiary of the Schenker Group.
The company will occupy 100 percent of the space in a new distribution facility ProLogis is developing in the industrial area of Vastra Arlandastad in city of Sigtuna, approximately 36 kilometers north of the capital, near the Stockholm-Arlanda International Airport. Schenker is consolidating its disparate operations in Stockholm and will use the new, larger facility as its primary distribution center for the Stockholm region, serving its customers' logistics needs throughout the country. The building, which is scheduled to begin construction in early 2008, is expandable up to 366,000 square feet (34,000 square meters).
This is ProLogis' first lease in the Nordic region with Schenker, which currently leases more than 1.8 million square feet (168,000 square meters) from ProLogis at locations in North America, Europe and Asia.
"Our new warehouse in Stockholm will provide greater flexibility and capacity as we grow our business operations in this region and will enable us to better meet the increased demand from our customers for effective logistics solutions," said Mats Olsson, managing director of Schenker Logistics. "In addition to state-of-the-art building features, our new distribution center will have a more efficient stock-management system, which will benefit both new and existing customers. ProLogis is a trusted facilities provider for Schenker, and we look forward to occupying the space."
"Buoyed by a strong local economy, a growing regional population, and steady demand for modern distribution space, Stockholm has emerged as a major player in the Scandinavian logistics property markets," said Christian Bischoff, senior vice president and regional director for northern Europe. "Today's transaction is another demonstration of our ability to serve our customer's multi-continent needs, and we look forward to expanding our platform in this increasingly important location."
Asgeir Torfason, market officer for ProLogis in Sweden, added that until recently the large majority of the existing floorspace in Sweden had been developed on an owner-occupier or pre-lease basis, primarily serving the needs of customers with local distribution requirements. "More and more customers with pan-European distribution requirements are realizing the strategic importance of Sweden as a regional distribution hub," said Torfason. "This has resulted in greater demand for our modern facilities both on a build-to-suit and inventory basis, where ProLogis has been somewhat of a pioneer; completing two such projects during 2007, both of which are now fully leased."
Land for the new park, to be called ProLogis Park Stockholm Arlanda, was acquired earlier this month. The site is immediately adjacent to the E4 motorway and in close proximity to the intersection of the E18 and E20, providing convenient access to the northern and southern regions of the country as well as Norway and Denmark.
ProLogis is one of the largest providers of distribution space in Sweden with more than 1.8 million square feet owned, managed or under development, as of September 30, 2007. In addition to Schenker, other customers in Sweden include DHL, DSV and Kuehne + Nagel.
About ProLogis
ProLogis is the world's largest owner, manager and developer of distribution facilities, with operations in 20 countries across North America, Europe and Asia. The company has $34.4 billion of assets owned, managed and under development, comprising 483.0 million square feet (44.9 million square meters) in 2,669 properties as of September 30, 2007. ProLogis' customers include manufacturers, retailers, transportation companies, third-party logistics providers and other enterprises with large-scale distribution needs. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, ProLogis employs more than 1,300 people worldwide. For additional information about the company, go to http://www.prologis.com.
Schenker
Schenker Logistics AB is the Schenker Group's company for third-party logistics in Sweden. Through this global group of companies, the Swedish company has access to one of the world's leading transport and logistics networks. The company has logistics centres at a number of strategic locations in Sweden and has a total of 130,000 m2 of warehouse space at its disposal. Schenker Logistics AB has 450 employees and net sales of SEK 500 million. The Group has net sales of EUR 13,232 million and has 54,905 employees in 50 countries.
http://www.schenkerlogistics.se
SOURCE ProLogis
Released November 12, 2007