The industrial sector is considered one of the most resilient to the negative economic consequences of the Covid-19 outbreak as it benefits from the growing popularity of online shopping, especially in recent weeks. Although there is not much difference between market data for Q1 2020 and Q1 2019, opportunities and risks for the logistics sector resulting from the current situation will not be known until later months, depending on how the pandemic unfolds, according to Savills.

Profi, one of the largest retail chains in Romania, expands its logistic activities by contracting two new projects in Timisoara (58,000 sqm) and Craiova (57,000 sqm), which will be developed and rented out by Belgian logistics developer WDP. JLL has advised Profi in both transactions, thus continuing the partnership started few years ago, which resulted in 250,000 sqm of logistics space contracted in Bucharest, Roman, Cluj, Craiova and Timisoara.

Electro-IT and home & deco online retailers take up approximately 370,000 sqm of storage space and this volume could increase by at least 50% in the next two years, due to the development of online commerce, reveals the Romania e-commerce research report launched by CBRE.

A well-known automotive company will soon start operating in a 6,000 sqm modern factory building located on a nearly 5-hectare industrial plot in the catchment area of ​​Budapest.

At the end of the Q1 2020, the total supply of modern warehouse space in Poland exceeded the level of 19 million sqm. The Warsaw market (three zones) maintained its leading position and accounted for nearly 23% of the total supply in the country (4.3 million sqm), Colliers International reports.

The industrial market in Poland has been growing at a very quick pace for several years, with record-breaking transaction sizes, new warehouse locations and growing net take-up levels. The focus of analysts is usually on demand as everything starts from tenants looking for warehouse and manufacturing space for their business operations. The warehouse market has been led in recent years by the e-commerce industry, which has been reporting annual growth of over 20%. However, other leading sectors are still logistics and distribution, household appliances, the automotive sector and manufacturing. Experts from Cushman & Wakefield summarised what is the impact of investment funds on the industrial market and why warehouses attract investors.

The Industrial Research Forum in the Czech Republic announced the final industrial market figures for Q1 2020. According to the report, both global and local real estate markets are affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the adopted measures. The situation is changing dynamically and currently, no predictions can be treated as accurate. While Q1 2020 seems to be a slightly weaker quarter in terms of take-up volumes, the Industrial Research Forum expects the true impact to be visible during Q2 and beyond.

Dunwell brokered a transaction for TeraPlast for 5,000 sqm (1,500 sqm of warehouse space and 3,500 sqm of outer platform) in Mega Distribution Center’s park in Chiajna. The relocation from the northern area into this new space aims at increasing the efficiency of the company’s distribution activities.

In the fourth instalment of a series of reports about COVID-19 and the implications for logistics real estate, Prologis Research looked at customer resilience amid high economic volatility and concluded that diversity of the company client base is a key factor in insulating the portfolio in turbulent market conditions.

Panattoni has embarked on a new project, Panattoni Park Tricity East III, totalling close to 33,000 sqm. The park will be completed in a single phase and has already found tenants for more than 26,000 sqm. They are logistics operators: Greenyard Logistics Poland, providing services to the FMCG sector, which will take up close to 12,000 sqm, and Omega Pilzno, specialising in comprehensive supply chain services, with a lease of 14,500 sqm. Project commissioning is anticipated in Q1 2021.