European logistics real estate markets have not suffered last year from the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to fast-growing e-commerce and higher inventory levels of producers, the total expected take-up in 11 European countries of 23.6 million sqm for 2020 is only 3% down compared with the record year 2019. The forecasts for this year are even better with an expected take-up of 27 million sqm – an increase of 14%. Particularly large logistics real estate markets like Germany, France, the Netherlands and Poland are expected to grow substantially.

Amazon continues to invest in Poland and will create over 1,000 new permanent jobs in Swiebodzin within a year of opening. Its tenth facility in Poland will include advanced Amazon Robotics technology, with 3,000 robotic drive units supporting the company’s associates.

Polish logistics company Uniq Logistic has become a tenant at another MLP Group park. The company will take up a total of over 17,000 sqm of space and will operate from two key locations in Pruszków and Łódź starting from the second quarter of 2021. Axi Immo supported the Group in the transaction.

Long-term owner and warehouse developer P3 has signed a lease agreement with HOPI for approximately 33,910 sqm of warehouse and office space in the P3 Mszczonów park. The new building will serve as HOPI's central warehouse and HQ in Poland.

The industrial market demonstrated resilience to the COVID-19 pandemic. E-commerce remained the key growth driver for the market throughout 2020. Experts of global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield have summarised 2020.

Rhenus Logistics has extended a contract and expanded its warehouse space at Mapletree Park Szczecin. The company now occupies ca. 52,000 sqm from ca. 102,000 sqm available space. Colliers International advised the tenant in the lease extension process.

The end of 2020 saw the completion of an investment transaction that will enable the future development of one of the largest logistics parks in the Czech Republic on the extensive land surrounding the D5 motorway near Pilsen. CBRE prepared and managed the disposal process on behalf of the Icelandic asset manager Kaupthing. CBRE in addition to advising on the sale, also assisted with land due diligence, feasibility study and provided technical advisory. The new owner of the land is retail chain Lidl.

Healthy occupier demand combined with high development activity have in recent years resulted in an increased appetite for investment land for industrial and logistics properties in Poland. Plot prices have risen as a result in the most attractive locations. Suitable, well-located greenfield land has become scarce, which has turned developers’ attention to brownfield plots. The COVID-19 pandemic has not had a material impact on the demand-supply balance in the land market, according to AXI IMMO.

The Industrial Agency of Colliers International Czech Republic completed the signature of a 15,688 sqm lease agreement for a German multinational engineering and technology company for industrial premises at CTPark Bor.

Over the year, the developer signed lease agreements with such clients as Media Expert, 4f, InPost, Allegro and Phoenix Contact for over 2.1 million sqm of space – 800,000 sqm more than the previous year. This volume was achieved in spite of the outbreak of the epidemic in March and was mainly due to the e-commerce boom. The strong performance of the warehouse and industrial market was also the result of other new trends – such as the shift of production from Asia closer to the end consumer and retail networks securing the continuity of their supply chains.