E-commerce lettings make up 40% of international developer GLP’s portfolio, a proportional rise of 15 percentage points since 2015.
The revelation comes as GLP, which acquired industrial developer Gazeley, announced that it signed 96 million sq ft of lease agreements on a global basis in the first half of 2020 – up 41% year-on-year.
GLP said: “E-commerce continues to be a strong driver of leasing demand, further accelerated by changes in consumer behaviour as a result of Covid-19, a trend that is expected to continue beyond the pandemic. Today, e-commerce represents approximately 40% of GLP’s global portfolio, compared with 20-25 % five years ago.”
Across the six month period in Europe, GLP signed leases with XPO Logistics in France, Bleckmann and Focus International (part of JD Sports Fashion) in the UK and ID Logistics in Germany, for a total of nearly 2.3 million sq ft.
Ming Mei, co-founder and chief executive of GLP, said: “Globally, e-commerce is becoming a far more important retail channel, accelerated by changes in consumer behaviour as a result of Covid-19. In the ‘new normal’, companies are reconfiguring their supply chain strategies to balance efficiency with resilience and a reassessment of ideal inventory levels will further increase demand for warehouses and demand for logistics services and facilities globally.”
