2020 was a landmark year for the warehouse industry, which in the face of the global pandemic turned out to be one of the strongest branches of the Polish economy. Summaries for last year show that Poland was the number two European market (after Germany) for commissioning warehouse space, as well as number three on the continent for leased space. 7R, the only Polish industrial and warehouse developer to be in the Polish sector’s top three, summarizes its results for 2020.

Some of the most mature PRS markets in Europe are Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the Nordics. The Polish PRS market is still in its infancy, but more and more players are declaring their willingness to build portfolios of thousands of rental apartments in Poland. Experts of Cushman & Wakefield present an outlook for the PRS growth in Poland.

According to analyses by JLL, Poles return to hotels in holiday resorts more willingly than in the spring 2020. Business hotels are still waiting for guests.

Institutional investors have acquired Echo Investment's bonds with a total value of PLN 195 million. The obtained funds will be allocated to the company's development, particularly in the promising residential sector.

Two new industrial buildings with a total area of 38,000 sqm are planned to be built in Bialystok. With a total investment of more than €33 million Accolade continues to develop its portfolio in Eastern Poland. The first tenant of the Class A warehouse will be InPost, a Polish-based complex logistics operator. Building A, which will be built during the first phase of the project, will be handed over to the tenant in September.

Investors and developers from all over the world are in a race for a slice of Poland's rapidly-developing warehouse market cake. Property Forum takes a look at the new and expanding players that have made headlines in recent months.

Part of the Glamox Group, ES-SYSTEM, a producer and supplier of professional lighting systems, has decided to let nearly 11,500 sqm of modern warehouse and office space in the 7R Park Poznań East logistics centre. The tenant was represented in the negotiation process by AXI IMMO consultants.  

Trei Real Estate’s development portfolio grew by 33 percent to €1.2 billion in 2020 from €900 million in 2019. The sum total breaks down into €1.0 billion in residential real estate and c. €200 million in retail real estate. The proprietary portfolio of Trei maintained its total of c. €1.2 billion and it includes 349 assets.

Real estate investment manager Garbe Institutional Capital, headquartered in Hamburg (Germany), is expanding into Central and Eastern Europe. Managing and developing retail, office and residential real estate assets, the company will initially focus on the Polish and Czech markets. With its commitment to the CEE region, Garbe Institutional Capital provides German institutional investors with access to high-quality real estate investments in economically prospering metropolitan areas in the eastern part of the European Union. The new CEE business is based in Prague and headed by Ben Maudling as Managing Director, Head of CEE.

Eurocash has acquired 49% stake in Arhelan retail chain, which operates over 100 stores in north-eastern Poland. The investment in Arhelan is in line with the development strategy of the group, as it aims to create the largest supermarket chain in Poland based on owned and franchise stores.