This year is likely to be the best for the Polish warehouse and industrial market, predicts Savills, with leasing activity already setting an all-time high in Q1-Q3 2020. Occupier take-up predominantly came from food retailers operating without any disruption despite restrictions imposed on other retail sectors and from e-commerce, including logistics operators serving e-retailers.

The scale and number of transactions in storage real estate in Central and Eastern Europe makes it one of the fastest-growing markets on the old continent. Investors generally are following the growing demand for warehouse space resulting, among other things, from the growing role of e-commerce. At the same time, the strategic location on many north-south and east-west international routes makes the CEE region of Europe a highly desirable destination for warehouse locations. It is one reason why this sector is the only real estate segment currently experiencing year-on-year growth.

The third quarter in Poland’s industrial sector saw a fairly positive sentiment among tenants and developers. At the end of September, the country was the second most active market in Europe in terms of net demand and the amount of space delivered. Warehouse investments in Poland were approximately €2.2 billion between January and November, setting an all-time annual record.JLL summarised the situation on the Polish industrial market at the end of Q3 2020.

Panattoni has been awarded four BREEAM certificates with ratings of 'Very Good' for its latest buildings. Each has passed a multi-criteria assessment of their impact on the environment. The buildings come from four separate projects: Panattoni Park Gorzów Wielkopolski, Panattoni Central European Logistics Hub, Panattoni BTS Amazon Łódź and Panattoni Warsaw Janki South. In this year alone, Panattoni has already been awarded certificates with ratings of 'Very Good' for over 520,400 sqm of space.

The Tei Group, which includes the Farmacia Tei network of pharmacies and Bebe Tei stores, leased approximately 10,000 sqm in the Metav industrial park in northern Bucharest, to build a semi-automatic warehouse, a transaction intermediated by Cushman & Wakefield Echinox.

VGP announces the start of development of its new multitenant business park in Brașov, Central Romania. With the groundworks started beginning of November, the first building with a surface of 9,400 sqm is planned to be delivered mid-2021 and will be partly occupied by pharmaceutical company Fildas Trading Srl. VGP Park Brașov is being developed on a land plot of approx. 390,000 sqm and will have a total potential of about 180,000 sqm lettable area.

Panattoni is developing another modern and ecologically sustainable cross-docking terminal for DB Schenker. The 6,000 sqm centre is to be built within the Rzeszów-Dworzysko Science and Technology Park. It will be equipped with a range of solutions to protect the environment as well as intelligent systems to optimise logistic operations. The developer is to hand the centre over in January 2021 and the development has already been accredited as an innovative centre by the Rzeszów Regional Development Agency.

Global logistics company Hellmann Worldwide Logistics is strengthening its position in the Czech Republic. At one of the largest industrial parks in the country, CTPark Bor, the company is expanding its total warehouse space. Besides the existing 20,000 sqm site that Hellmann currently operates, an additional area of almost 12,000 sqm will be added by the end of the year. Hellmann uses the CTPark Bor for worldwide distribution but with a strong focus on the German market.

Arcadis, an international consultancy company focused on building industry, environment and sustainable growth, summarised the current development on the Czech industrial property market in the context of the second wave of coronavirus pandemic.

Total modern warehouse stock in Poland exceeded 20 million sqm in Q3, with a further 1.5 million sqm currently underway despite the pandemic. Occupier activity was at the second-highest level on record in Q3 2020, reaching 1.22 million sqm (+49% y/y). Overall, 3.5 million sqm has been leased since the start of the year. Investor sentiment also remains robust, as testified by a record volume of transactions signed so far in 2020. Axi Immo presented its report on the Polish warehouse market in Q3 2020.