Colliers Market Report Denmark 2023

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Industrial & logistics - Colliers Market Report 2023

Green agendas

Hotel I ndustrial & logistics Retail Residential Office

of investors and users ...

The call from investors and users for climate-friendly, sustainable and preferably environmentally certified properties is slowly spreading from mainly office build ings to industrial/logistics facilities. Green certifications are expected to become the norm for virtually all new buildings in the coming years. DSV’s newly built 95,000 sq m storage facility in Hedehusene west of Copenhagen serves as an exam ple. When taken into use in 2022, featuring e.g. solar roof tiles and battery for storing electricity for cloudy days, the facility was granted DGNB Silver certification. The facil ity is one of the very first Danish industrial and logistics properties to be DGBN-certified. More than anything, the call for more energy-efficient lease premises has bearing on the gross rent of up-to date energy-efficient buildings, that is, prime proper ties. All other things being equal, it should be possible to

charge a higher net rent for highly energy-efficient proper ties compared to less energy-efficient properties, often sec ondary properties belonging to the old building stock. This is because energy costs account for a significantly larger share of gross rent for properties with low energy efficiency. Due to poor energy efficiency, hardly any existing indus trial/logistics facilities in Denmark qualify as sustainable. Energy-efficiency requirements of existing buildings are expected to be introduced in the foreseeable future, e.g., based on EU regulations. In view of the property industry’s general shift in favour of sustainability, owners of outdated buildings could be facing a challenge, with costly refurbishment schemes being required for the buildings to meet the standards expected by tenants. If it is any consolation, it is often less expensive to refurbish and modernise industrial and logistics properties than, say, office properties.

In recent years, last mile delivery has gained momentum as customers have become more used to expecting prompt delivery of articles purchased online. Small, centrally located storage units and logistics hubs for last mile delivery may well support corporate objectives of sustainability and green transition. For instance, DHL now employs bicycle messengers for deliveries from cen tral parcel shops. One such DHL shop is located at Nørreport station in central Copenhagen. Norwegian Bring aims at using only sustainable energy in its buil dings and vehicles. In practice, Bring provides its messengers with e.g. electric bicycles to make parcel deliveries from small storage units in central locations. The green trends in last mile delivery further accelerate the demand for cen trally located storage space, which is already in scarce supply. An alternative use of large retail units could potentially add to supply, however. Last mile delivery going green ?