The key pandemic-related trends on the Polish office market of 2020 include the transformation of the way work we work and where we work. This prompted many occupiers to redefine their needs regarding the size of the office and the way the office is arranged. Equally important was ensuring workplace safety, also through new technological solutions. As a result of the pandemic and the lockdown measures, both development and leasing activity decreased slightly last year. Demand came mostly from new contracts and renewals. The AXI IMMO advisory firm summarises market conditions in 2020 and explores current office space trends in Poland.

GLP announced the development of a new 37,000 sqm logistics centre in Upper Silesia, Poland. The 37,000 sqm unit marks the first phase of development and is part of a scheme to develop over 110,000 sqm of warehouse space in Ledziny, each with direct access to the S1 expressway.

In 2020, total warehouse take-up hit close to 5 million sqm for the first time in history, representing a 24% increase year-on-year. New leases and expansions accounted for nearly 70% of that total, equating to approximately 3.45 million sqm. Cushman & Wakefield has summarised 2020 on the Polish industrial market.

Construction of a fully automated center located in the vicinity of Radzymin, a town near Warsaw, started in mid-January of this year. The project for Żabka Polska, the largest convenience store chain in Poland, is set to be completed in 2022. The project will include a “high bay” storage facility with a height of 40 m. 7R is responsible for the investment’s development.

Managed by Colliers and owned by AMASI Grundstücksgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG., the Warsaw office building Prosta Office Centre has been awarded a BREEAM certificate at Very Good level. The rating applies to both the Building Efficiency (Part 1) and the Management Efficiency (Part 2) parts of the certificate.

White Stone Development, a part of White Stone capital group has successfully placed its first unsecured bond issue worth PLN 11 million. Due to the demand exceeding the maximum bid, the reduction of subscriptions reached nearly 20%.

In 2020, office take-up hit its lowest level in ten years amid pandemic headwinds despite the largest-ever single lease contract signed to date and one of the highest volumes of new office space coming onto the Warsaw market on record, says real estate advisory firm Savills. Rents remained resilient and the overall vacancy rate is still below the levels last seen during the previous supply peak five years ago.

Any investor who observes the real estate market right now is likely to start with warehouse assets. This trend has already been visible, but the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic have accelerated it to an astonishing degree, says Robert Dobrzycki, Chief Executive Officer of Panattoni who talked to Property Forum about the driving forces behind the growth of the warehouse market.

Panattoni has launched its latest park in Poland’s Małopolska region. Panattoni Park Kraków East II will be situated on the eastern side of the Kraków conurbation, just off the Targowisko junction of the A4 motorway, and is to have an area of ​​almost 19,000 sqm. Panattoni’s presence in the region has since expanded to 4 existing projects with a total area of ​​100,000 sqm. As soon as late July or early August this year, the first tenant, Kenig Spedition, will be moving into 9,200 sqm of the complex, which will be used for logistics, service and production processes for its clients – manufacturers of pallets and packaging. The lease was mediated by consultancy Axi Immo.

Polish company Scallier is developing a new chain of retail parks in Romania under the Funshop Park brand with the first three expected to open this year. Wojciech Jurga, Managing Partner at Scallier provided an update on the company’s development plans and talked about the differences between the Polish and Romanian markets.