According to Savills’ Global Warehousing Costs 2024 report, Prague is the only European city where the total costs associated with operating premium industrial properties decreased year-on-year — in its case, by 1.8%. In contrast, these expenses increased in neighboring Poland, with increases of 5.7% in Wroclaw, 5.8% in Warsaw, 8.7% in Katowice, and as much as 11.2% in Poznan.
The costs analyzed by Savills included headline rent for modern warehouse spaces (excluding any incentives that landlords often provide to tenants), local taxes, and service charges (excluding utilities consumed by the tenants themselves). In Prague and Warsaw, these total warehouse rental costs are nearly the same, with Prague at EUR 99/m²/year and Warsaw at EUR 97.86/m²/year. The year-on-year decrease in total costs on the Prague market was mainly due to a correction in rental levels, Savills is reporting, which began to drop from their peak in 2023. On the other hand, in 2024 there was an increase in property taxes, which impacted some industrial parks (and their tenants) more than others, depending on the specific location.
“When looking for a suitable location for the long-term lease of premium industrial spaces, several factors need to be considered,” said Ondrej Mícek, Head of Industrial at Savills. “In addition to transport accessibility, the stable legislation, the technical specifications of the hall, or the size of the unit, the costs play a crucial role. Our report shows that additional service charges or taxes in a given location can increase the rental cost by 5 to 11% annually, as is the case in Poland.”
According to Savills, “the most expensive area for leasing premium warehouse space is the United Kingdom, which occupies the top four spots. London ranks first overall with EUR 446/m²/year, followed by the Midlands region at EUR 220/m²/year, the North West of England at EUR 198/m²/year, and Yorkshire at EUR 182/m²/year. In neighboring Germany, rental prices, including taxes and service charges, range from EUR 105/m²/year in Frankfurt to EUR 110/m²/year in Hamburg.”
“Warehousing has recently benefitted from a booming logistics industry and the global diversification of manufacturing, fuelling significant rises in property-associated costs,” commented Paul Tostevin, Head of Savills World Research.”But we’re now seeing growth slow as higher supply and more moderate demand is helping to rebalance many markets. Big macro trends such as reorientating supply chains and rising e-commerce rates aren’t going away, however, so we expect to see further movement in costs in key locations in the coming years.”
