In the third instalment of a series of articles on COVID-19 and its implications for logistics real estate, Prologis identifies concrete learnings from its operations in China and its proprietary data globally.

While near-term conditions remain uncertain, a recession is becoming increasingly probable and Prologis has identified five areas that will shape market conditions. Current events have also led to the quick emergence of two new structural demand drivers, namely the need for more inventories as supply chains emphasize resilience over efficiency and the re-acceleration of e-commerce adoption.

In our interconnected world, significant disruptions underscore the need for resilient supply chains. The risks posed by COVID-19 to economic growth would likewise affect real estate in the near term; on both counts, the magnitude is yet unknown. Still, structural trends point to resiliency for logistics real estate through this period and beyond, shaping both the fundamental and investment landscape, according to a new report by Prologis Research.

Prologis has appointed Paweł Sapek as Regional Head Central Europe, a role in which he is responsible for maintaining strong team leadership, identifying new opportunities and steering the region towards new paths of development. Sapek is now responsible for overseeing the company's entire CE portfolio across Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, with a total area of 4.2 million square meters. In addition, he will run the Polish branch of Prologis and directly supervise operations in Hungary.

In 2019, five out of the ten European markets with the highest logistics rental growth were located in CEE. Last year, net effective rents rose more than 5% for Europe as a whole, the highest level ever recorded. This growth is driven by headline rent growth as, after several years of concession reductions, many markets across Europe are currently at very low levels of incentives such as free rent. Prologis published its Logistics Rent Index.

2019 saw the completion of 8 Prologis buildings in CEE with a total area of 189 000 square meters, whereas development starts totalled 200,000 square meters. Prologis shared it 2019 results and achievements for Central Europe.

Prologis has been named the top real estate company on the 2020 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World List. This annual ranking of corporate sustainability performance also put Prologis at #6 among U.S. companies and #26 overall. The announcement was made at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Prologis has started the development of a 21,000 square meter speculative facility at the fully occupied Prologis Park Prague-Uzice in the Czech Republic. The facility will be completed in Q2 2020 and it will offer flexible space solutions for all types of business – logistics/storage or production, with unit sizes starting at 4,500 square meters. It has further development potential for up to another 42,000 square meters.

Poland-based proptech company Velis Real Estate Tech announced that its facility management software Singu FM has been implemented across Prologis’ EU portfolio and six U.S. markets. Prologis is a global leader in logistics real estate with a focus on investing in technology that helps customers solve their pain points and run their businesses as efficiently as possible. 

Prologis has signed one of the largest leasing transactions in Europe this year. Long-term partner EURO-net will lease 160,000 square meters at Prologis Park Janki.