Real estate advisory firm Savills anticipates that some of the immediate knock-on effects of the war in Ukraine on the Polish logistics market will include sustained demand for new warehouse projects amid construction difficulties and a prospect of rental growth in ready-to-occupy facilities.

According to Savills latest report, 2021 was the best year on record for the Czech industrial market in terms of tenancy activity, despite the low volume of new completions and extremely low vacancy rate. Gross take-up totalled a staggering 2.32 million sqm, being 53% higher than the previous record of 1.55 million sqm seen in 2020. Annual net take-up (excl. renewals) reached 1.48 million sqm, a 46% increase over the former record of 1.01 million sqm registered in 2017, Savills reports.

Panattoni has just completed its fifth project for K-Flex in Uniejów in central Poland. In March, the developer also signed a new contract for the development of an extension of K-Flex’s production campus. This will be its sixth building and is to have an area of 33,000 sqm. The total area of K-Flex’s facilities in Uniejów will thus reach 100,000 sqm. This will allow the company, a leading producer of thermal and acoustic insulation materials, to service the growing needs of its construction clients in Europe, Asia and the USA.

Three new tenants have leased space in Panattoni Park Toruń II: global logistics operators Dachser and Hellmann Worldwide Logistics Polska as well as a wholesale distributor of FMCG products. The companies will be moving into the complex in Q3 this year. Panattoni has now delivered more than 300,000 sqm in the region.

Develia has signed a letter of intent on a joint venture with Hillwood Polska regarding the intention to jointly invest on a property located in Malina near Wrocław, involving the construction of a logistics centre with an area of ​​at least 400,000 sqm of GLA. The estimated value of the entire project will exceed PLN 1.5 billion.

In 2021, Poland's warehouse market recorded another outstanding result. The seven most important highlights included a record-breaking volume of investment transactions, take-up, and space under construction. The total industrial stock at the end of December 2021 amounted to more than 25 million sqm, with the vacancy rate indicating only 3.72%.

Belgian developer Alinso Group has purchased the Metav Business Park in northern Bucharest from Metav S.A. for an undisclosed sum.

Panattoni is once again developing a project for DB Schenker near Poznań. In the second quarter of 2022, the logistics operator will occupy over 20,000 sqm in Panattoni Park Poznań XII, where it will serve its client from the automotive sector. The two companies have worked together in Panattoni Park Poznań VIII in Komorniki. The building will feature reinforced floors, suitable for forklifts that use the inductive loop technology. Panattoni will also deliver numerous green solutions, which should allow the project to obtain the BREEAM certification at the “Excellent” level.

Industrial developer HelloParks will use the €82 million (approximately HUF 30 billion) loan to build its industrial and logistics park in Maglód which is being developed in several phases. The next, second building is planned to be handed over in the last quarter of 2022.

Panattoni Park Koluszki, with a target area of ​​39,800 sqm, is now 60% leased. In September this year, more than 13,500 sqm will be occupied by international auto parts supplier Kamoka. The tenant was represented by Axi Immo in the selection process for the location and negotiating the contract.