GARBE PYRAMID MAP: Growing Demand for Floor Space by Asian Players Shaping Europe’s Logistics Real Estate Markets

News 13/08/2026

• Demand for warehouse space is driven mainly by Asian operators in the fields of e-commerce, battery storage, the semiconductor industry and electric vehicle production, depending on the region.
• Stable or slightly growing prime rents in combination with slowly rising net initial yields underscore the robustness of markets even in these times of geopolitical jitters.
• The most attractive blend of rent growth and yield compression is now found in Spain and selected secondary markets in the UK.

Hamburg, 13 August 2026 – Europe’s logistics real estate markets have continued to stabilise midway through 2026, and this despite geopolitical threats such as the Iran war and the ECB’s key interest rate hike. At the same time, even markets with stable rent levels are seeing some take-up in 2026. One of the primary recent trends is the growing demand for European logistics facilities that is generated by companies from Asia. The latter increasingly dominate the take-up in a number of submarkets. These are the findings that GARBE Research presented in its latest GARBE PYRAMID MAP, which is an overview of prime rents and prime net initial yields for the 122 most important logistics real estate submarkets in 25 European countries.

Asian Companies Emerging as Growing Demand Group

“In an ever larger number of European markets, Chinese companies are quickly becoming an autonomous driver of demand for warehouse space,” said Tobias Kassner, Head of Research and Member of the Executive Board at GARBE Industrial. “The background to this is a fundamental structural shift in e-commerce supply chains. Instead of moving their goods by air cargo or via direct mailing to Europe, many companies are now setting up their own inventories and logistics structures in Europe. The former strategy of using selected transshipment centres for ‘parcel drop-offs’ is being phased out in favour of a more regionalised stock management system.”

The extra demand has long ceased to be generated by e-commerce alone. Depending on the market, the battery storage industry is moving centre stage along with the relocation of manufacturing facilities and supply chains of the electric vehicle and semiconductor industries to Europe – not least to reduce trade and tariff risks. “The intensity and nature of demand among Chinese and other Asian companies differs from one market to the next,” said Yingnan Yao, Head of Business Development Asia Desk at GARBE Industrial. “Demand for logistics real estate space in Poland is strongly driven by e-commerce. While the country saw comparatively few letting transactions last year, e-commerce has boosted this year’s take-up, with Asian companies playing a major role in the process.”

Aside from Poland, GARBE Industrial found that Germany, France and the United Kingdom are among the target markets relevant for e-commerce-motivated inquiries about warehouse space. This segment, more than others, appreciates availability at short notice, which is why many inquiries focus specifically on existing facilities. Particularly relevant for the e-commerce distribution to Germany and other European markets is the logistics corridor extending from Rotterdam to Duisburg and further eastward into North Rhine-Westphalia. In the Netherlands, projects in the vicinity of lithium- and battery-storage sites are encouraged by the proximity of the country’s ports. In the United Kingdom, battery storage sites as well as production relocations and the set-up of local supply chains act as additional drivers that motivate inquiries. However, it would be premature to derive a market-wide tendency on the strength of this observation.

The additional demand is adding momentum to take-up, but so far it has not translated into rent growth across the board. Meanwhile, the vacancy trend in Europe as a whole has stabilised. After years of growing vacancies caused by well-filled development pipelines at a time of cautious renting behaviour, void rates are falling again in many places. This is explained by increased lettings of existing floor space but also by the visible slowdown in speculative construction.

At the same time, the defence sector is gradually evolving into a serious demand driver. However, it will take years for the long term investment programs in this sector to generate actual demand for warehouse space. That said, it should be noted that a substantial share of this demand remains below the radar due to confidentiality requirements or because it is simply associated with other industrial sectors.

 

Stable Rents, Slow Rise in Yields

The growth in prime rents highlights the progressive stabilisation of Europe’s logistics real estate markets. During the first half-year of 2026, rent levels remained stable in 79 of the 122 analysed regions while 14 regions recorded declines and 29 regions modest gains. Rent increases are concentrated in certain tightly knit markets in Northern, Western and Southern Europe whereas rent levels in many Eastern European locations followed a sideways trend or even declined slightly. By the end of June, the average prime rent was 7.52 euros per square metre and month.

Net initial yields, by contrast, showed signs of a trend reversal. After a long wait, rising yield levels dominated the picture once again during the first half of 2026. Out of the 122 regions analysed, 62 experienced a mild decompression, with yields remaining stable in 51 regions and merely nine regions registering further compression. This implies a reversal of the situation seen during the second half of 2025. Net initial yields increased by an average of eight basis points during the first half-year. By the end of June, prime yields averaged 5.6 percent.

“The fact that yields are easing slightly primarily reflects an increase in geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty – particularly as a result of higher energy prices and changed interest-rate expectations. It does not indicate a structural drop in demand on European logistics real estate markets,” as Tobias Kassner elaborated. “In many markets, the property value adjustments of recent years have progressed to an advanced state or are already concluded.”

 

Attractive Market Opportunities Opening up in Spain and Secondary UK Regions

By mid-2026, a favourable combination of rent growth and yield compression was most conspicuous in Spain and selected secondary markets in the United Kingdom. Prime rents in Barcelona increased by 0.20 euros during the first half-year, whereas the net initial yield fell by ten basis points. In Zaragoza, the rental uplift amounted to 0.10 euros and the yield compression to 20 basis points. Newcastle registered a rent growth by 0.20 euros and a yield compression by ten basis points. Germany’s top markets, these being Munich and the inner city of Berlin, led the field in terms of prime rents: They increased by 6.9 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively, since the end of 2025; over a five-year period, their annual growth averaged 15.3 percent and 13.1 percent, respectively. This contrasts with the rental growth on Berlin’s periphery, which was hampered by a larger supply of warehouse space. As far as yield rates go, however, Munich and Berlin City matched the general trend of a modest compression or stable development. Compared to 2025, the most favourable combination of rent growth and yield compression has lately shifted from Germany’s top markets to Spain and to certain secondary regions in the United Kingdom.

For more detailed statistics and methodological information, see the interactive GARBE PYRAMID MAP whose latest update will be available by 01 September 2026. The data referenced in our press release are sourced from the PYRAMID project.