Savills Reports Strong European Logistics Investment in 2024 Despite Market Cooling in Q1 2025

Savills Reports Strong European Logistics Investment in 2024 Despite Market Cooling in Q1 2025

(IN BRIEF) Savills’ latest research shows that European logistics real estate investment volumes reached €38.2 billion in 2024, up 15% year-on-year, but still 15% below the five-year average. The market saw a downturn in Q1 2025, with investment volumes dropping by 38% compared to Q4 2024. Notable year-on-year growth was seen in markets like the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Ireland. Meanwhile, industrial vacancy rates began to rebound, rising to 6.62% in Q1 2025. Trends in investor preferences shifted towards multi-let properties, with core European markets like Germany, France, and Spain receiving the most attention.

(PRESS RELEASE) LONDON, 28-May-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — Savills’ latest research reveals that European logistics real estate investment volumes reached €38.2 billion in 2024, reflecting a 15% year-on-year increase. However, this was still 15% below the five-year average. The strong performance in 2024 was largely driven by a robust Q4, with €12 billion invested in logistics assets during the last quarter of the year.

In contrast, the market cooled in Q1 2025, with logistics investment volumes dropping to €7.5 billion, a 38% decline from Q4 2024 and 16% lower compared to Q1 2024. Despite this decline, the year-on-year growth figures in several European markets remained impressive. Notably, the Czech Republic saw a remarkable increase of 1358%, followed by Hungary (+445%) and Ireland (+371%). Among the core European logistics markets, Italy (+95%), Spain (+81%), and Poland (+47%) saw the largest increases in annual terms.

European industrial vacancy rates, which had been declining in 2024, began to rebound in Q1 2025, rising by 71 basis points from 5.91% to 6.62%. This marks the first increase in vacancy rates after several quarters of deceleration in the growth of vacancy levels.

Andrew Blennerhassett, Associate Director of UK & EMEA Logistics Research at Savills, commented: “Given the current geopolitical instability, we expect a decline in take-up in Q2 2025, with a potential V-shaped recovery by the year’s end. The most notable historical example of a shift in global trade is Brexit. Post-referendum, the UK saw a 30% drop in take-up in 2017, followed by a 41% recovery the following year.”

Peter Kirk, Director in Savills pan-European logistics team, added: “A key trend in 2025 is the growing investor preference for multi-let properties over big-box, single-tenant assets. Multi-let properties offer better diversification of tenant risk, providing more resilience compared to single-tenant investments. Additionally, we’ve noticed that debt financing has become more affordable and accretive in recent weeks.”

In terms of location, Savills’ European Logistics Census in 2024 identified a marked shift toward core locations. Germany (65%), France (56%), and Spain (54%) saw the most investor interest in logistics real estate.

Media Contacts:

Andrew Blennerhassett
UK & EMEA Logistics Research Analyst, Commercial Research
+44 (0) 20 7535 3336

Peter Kirk
Director, Portfolio Investmen

SOURCE: Savills