Yunda Express Signs Up for 16,700 SQM at Goodman Changzhou Project

Australia-based Goodman Group has secured a 16,700 square metre lease with top-five mainland courier firm Yunda Express at its Goodman Changzhou Logistics Centre in Jiangsu province, according to an announcement by the industrial real estate specialist.

The Goodman Changzhou Logistics Centre is planned to add another 100,000 square metres of prime logistics space to the Yangtze River Delta industrial centre, and Yunda Express, which went public on the Shenzhen exchange last year through a reverse merger, has committed to occupying a custom-tailored chunk in Phase 2 of the development.

Located in Changzhou’s National High-Tech District, the centre provides distribution services throughout Eastern China and the Greater Shanghai region via the adjacent Jiangyi Expressway and the nearby Shanghai Nanjing Expressway, not far from the Changzhou Benniu International Airport and Changzhou Port.

“As a major industrial property group globally and in China, Goodman has a proven track record of working closely with leading logistics service providers to deliver tailor-made solutions specific for this sector,” Kristoffer Harvey, Chief Executive Officer, Greater China for Goodman said “With excellent transport links and a tailored cross dock design, we are confident of delivering the best solution for Yunda Express in Eastern China.”

Mainland Logistics Industry Continues to Drive Warehouse Demand

The express delivery sector in China grew by about 50 percent a year between 2010 and 2014, and the industry’s appetite for warehouse space has been voracious.

“We had a tight deadline to look for a new warehouse in preparation for the Single’s Day shopping festival in 2017,” Yunda Express management said in the Goodman announcement. Through our existing relationships with Goodman across China, we have full confidence that Goodman will deliver another high quality facility for Yunda Express under a tight deadline.”

Goodman had 41 properties including industrial parks, warehouses and distribution centres valued at $5.5 billion at the end of 2016, and had 3.2 million square meters of facilities in Greater China as of April of 2016. The company’s global CEO Greg Goodman said last year that the Goodman Group had the capacity to build up to two million more square metres of space in Greater China.

Last year Goodman Group expanded its mainland portfolio by purchasing a logistics center in Shanghai from Singapore-listed Ascendas REIT, for S$26 million ($19 million at the time). Not far from the Goodman Changzhou Logistics Centre the Goodman Group has another large property under construction, the 40,000-square-meter Goodman Wuxi East Logistics Centre.