The European industrial and logistics investment market experienced a record breaking H1 investment volume this year, despite a slower Q2. In Hungary, the vacancy rate slipped to 6.6%, and developers’ activity is on the rise according to the latest research data of CBRE.

Prologis has begun the development of an 11,720 sqm speculative distribution facility at Prologis Park Prague-Airport in response to high customer demand, which has resulted in the park being fully let.

Panattoni Europe has announced the lease of three warehouse facilities totalling 42,526 sqm by Raben Logistics Polska. The investment will be carried out at Panattoni Park Grodzisk III. The developer has also recently started the construction of a BTS logistics centre for Sanden Manufacturing Poland in Polkowice, comprising approx. 6,500 sqm.

Tchibo Prague has held the topping out ceremony of the first its distribution centre in Panattoni Park Cheb, which will serve online customers from the CEE region and the southern part of Germany. Currently, the total rentable area has reached 39,000 sqm which will be shortly extended to 73,000 sqm. After completion, the premises will become the second largest logistics hall ever constructed in the territory of the Czech Republic after the distribution centre of Amazon in Dobrovíz. The Tchibo distribution centre shall start its operation by the end of this year. The second phase of the project will be completed in the middle of next year.

Prologis has opened a 16,000 square metre small business unit (SBU) facility at Prologis Park Chorzów, which is already 60 percent leased. This is the last building to be constructed at Prologis’ largest distribution centre in Poland, totalling 251,000 square metres.

Cushman & Wakefield represented one of the most dynamically growing ‘CEP’ (Courier, Express and Parcel) market participant, DPD Hungary Ltd. with their lease transaction to open up a 3,000 sqm distribution centre in Budapest. 

Prologis has announced that it will deliver a 11,740 square metre build-to-suit (BTS) facility for Geis PL, a German logistics operator, at Prologis Park Stryków. The project is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2016.

At the end of June 2016 total modern warehouse stock in Poland stood at 10,500,000 sqm. Occupier and developer activity is expected to continue its strong momentum, as revealed by Cushman & Wakefield in its Polish Industrial Market Q2 2016 report.

Panattoni Europe is to deliver a custom-tailored project for Trio Line, the Danish manufacturer of high-end upholstered furniture. The investment spanning more than 32,200 sqm of space will be developed near Poznań and will merge warehousing and manufacturing functions. The transaction was mediated by AXI IMMO, and completion of the facility is planned in Q1 2017.

Budapest Airport and DHL Express have signed a strategic agreement about the development of a new facility for the Deutsche Post DHL Group company in Hungary. This is the second large-scale investment by Budapest Airport and DP DHL, after the latter’s freight forwarding business units moved into a new facility built in the Airport Business Park in 2013.