Health, Solar Add to ESR’s $2.7bn Pipeline

ESR Australia is adding a $83 million pharmaceutical distribution facility and solar-powered plans to its $2.7 billion assets under management.

The Hong Kong-listed logistics group entered into an joint development agreement with DHL Supply Chain to create a 36,000sq m temperature-controlled warehouse in Western Sydney at the ESR Bringelly Road Business Hub.

The move comes as the company banks on temperature-controlled facilities and creating a solar network as Australia’s moves towards net-zero emissions by 2050.

ESR Australia chief executive Phil Pearce said solar energy is going to become more and more of a focus over the coming years.

“Warehouses provide such a big roofing area and are ideally suited to harvesting that sun and generating power so I think that’s going to be a continued theme,” Pearce told The Urban Developer.

“It’s definitely for our own uses but there should be more focus to get power onto the grid.”

Automation is also another key area for the industrial sector which has boomed following the onset of the pandemic and the drive to ecommerce and logistics.

“It has been extremely good for the industrial-logistics sector, we’ve seen a lot of capital come into the sector which has driven down cap rates and that’s off the back of other asset classes that have become less favourable,” Pearce said.

The head of ESR Australia said although this facility was not necessarily to store the Covid vaccine, there is an increased demand for warehouses that remain at stable temperatures, instead of the five to 40 degrees outside.

“We’re seeing increasing demand for temperature-controlled facilities to cater for perishable and sensitive products. In particular, enquiries from pharmaceutical and food-related industries are on the rise,” Pearce said.

“This is a trend we expect to continue, along with the demand generated by the ecommerce boom.”

ESR Australia has also delivered cold storage facilities for Symbion, API, RAND, Coles, Calendar Cheese and Laverton Cold Store.

The latest facility is scheduled for completion in October 2021 and will have a 450kw solar system.

The property will be owned in the long term by ESR Australia Logistics Partnership, an 80-20 joint venture between GIC and ESR Australia.