Cold storage investment and site selection strategy

Although cold storage continues to attract increasing interest from investors, China’s cold storage industry is still at a nascent stage of development, with asset supply and quality lagging market demand. However the 14th Five Year Plan on Cold Chain Logistics set the target of building a cold-chain logistics network connecting production and sales areas by 2025, this will create significant opportunities for cold storage investment.

The coming years will see the development of a large volume of new investment grade facilities as more developers and investors enter the market to design, construct, operate and manage cold storage, with distribution and delivery centres set to be a major focus.

Cold storage development and upgrading opportunities will primarily lie in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and satellite cities. CBRE recommends investors evaluate potential cold storage acquisitions based on the economic and consumer growth trends of target cities, their demand profile and infrastructure, and peer analysis.