France’s speculative logistics pipeline just gained a contested addition. The prefect of Maine-et-Loire has authorised Concerto, part of the Kaufman & Broad group, to operate a 66,000 sqm warehouse at Allonnes, near Saumur in western France. Signed on 10 July, the decision clears the final regulatory hurdle for a scheme whose building permit dates back to November 2023.
A Large Speculative Build
The warehouse stretches 500 metres along the Anjou Actiparc La Ronde business park, close to the Vivy interchange on the A85 motorway. It rises 14 metres and divides into 11 cells of 6,000 sqm apiece. Six are refrigerated. Two are reserved for hazardous materials. Add 2,700 sqm of offices, 66 loading docks, and a layout designed to run around the clock, absorbing up to 300 truck movements a day. The 15.6-hectare plot went under a sale agreement in late 2022. Investment was estimated at roughly €70M, with about 200 jobs promised when the developer presented the project in 2023.
Local Opposition and a Pending Appeal
Not everyone is on board. Allonnes’ municipal council issued an unfavourable opinion, pointing to the difficulty of assessing a project built “en blanc”, meaning speculative, with no tenant identified. Local and national associations filed objections as well. The matter is not settled either: the authorisation can still be challenged before the Nantes administrative court for a two-month window.
Whether a tenant signs before that window closes is the question now hanging over the site.
