The international advisory firm Cushman & Wakefield has summarized investor activity in the warehouse real estate market in Poland for the first quarter of this year. The investment volume exceeded EUR 202 million during this period, representing nearly a 50% year-on-year increase. The upcoming quarters of 2025 may see a return of portfolio transactions, indicating strong confidence from funds in the Polish sector.
Increased Capital Activity and the Return of Portfolio Deals
In Q1 2025, investment volume in Poland’s logistics sector reached over EUR 202 million, marking a 47% rise compared to the same period last year. This demonstrates that investor activity in this segment continues to accelerate, with approximately EUR 2 billion of capital currently seeking investment opportunities. A significant return to larger-scale transactions is visible on the market, reflecting renewed interest in portfolio deals. Although no single transaction exceeding EUR 100 million was finalized in the first quarter, ongoing processes suggest that such deals may materialize in the coming months, explains Robert Tomaszewski, Senior Investment Consultant, Capital Markets Poland, Cushman & Wakefield.
Investment strategies remain primarily focused on modern assets with significant reversionary potential. However, this trend is beginning to ease due to a weaker rental market and a shrinking pool of assets offering substantial rental growth.
In response, investors increasingly target properties with longer WAULT (weighted average unexpired lease terms), where current pricing has yet to fully reflect the appropriate premium for lease duration. At the same time, sale-and-leaseback transactions are gaining popularity, offering investors a simpler path to achieve their return objectives, adds Tomaszewski.
Capitalization rates for prime logistics properties in Poland remain broadly stable compared to 2024, with benchmark cap rates around 6.25%, and most deals closing in the range of 6.50% to just under 7.00%. Expected improvements in debt financing conditions in the coming quarters could create room for further compression of capitalization rates.
Stable Bank Appetite for Logistics Financing
Banks show the strongest interest in new projects located in established logistics hubs and leased to several or a dozen reputable tenants. Financing for single-tenant buildings is possible, but financial institutions in such cases generally require either long-term leases or very attractive locations and standard building specifications that are easily leaseable to companies from other sectors, comments Mira Kantor-Pikus, Partner, Equity, Debt & Alternative Investments, Capital Markets, Cushman & Wakefield.
Bank financing typically covers about 50-55% of the market value of the property. The margin depends closely on building quality, age, location, lease profile, and borrower reputation. For acquisitions of older buildings, banks place significant emphasis on ESG criteria and base their decisions on the buyer’s decarbonization strategy. Additionally, sustainability goals strongly influence warehouse asset valuations.
In the logistics segment, income stability remains steady, although pressure on effective rents persists due to ongoing tenant incentives. ESG factors are increasingly important in valuation processes—even though many markets still lack hard data to precisely quantify so-called “green premiums” or “brown discounts.” However, the impact of ESG is visible indirectly—through building operating costs, rent levels, and rising expectations from investors, banks, and insurers regarding assets that meet the highest sustainability standards, summarizes Marcin Malmon, Head of Valuations & Advisory, Cushman & Wakefield.
