The vast majority (96 percent) of logistics users in Europe intend to place more—or at least as much—new space demand in the coming twelve months as in the previous year. This is according to a current CBRE survey. This “CBRE European Logistics Occupier Survey 2025” is based on assessments from over 100 logistics users in Europe, with an estimated total usable area of between 85 and 95 million square meters.
Differences emerged depending on when the survey was conducted: a higher share of the companies surveyed after April 2, the time of the introduction of new US trade policies, indicated that they planned to need more space. According to CBRE, this could be a reaction to temporary disruptions in the supply chains.
With regard to mid-term planning (the next three years), users are more cautious: 46 percent of
respondents plan to expand in this period. Demand is driven mainly by logistics service providers as well as by parcel and postal service providers—by logistics service providers, according to the real estate service provider, presumably as a result of the ongoing outsourcing of supply chains. Although manufacturing companies had a larger share of space demand in recent months, the survey shows that the industry, by comparison, acts more cautiously: 19 percent of the surveyed manufacturing companies plan to shrink their space portfolios.
“The mid-term expansion plans of users have weakened, which is an understandable reaction to geopolitical uncertainties and macroeconomic challenges,” said Dr. Carl Deppisch, Head of European Industrial & Logistics Occupier at CBRE. “Our study also shows that users are resilient. Even though large-scale expansion projects are currently hard to justify, many companies are finding ways to
adapt to the changed framework conditions.”
Compared to the pandemic years, users today would have more choice again, Deppisch said. This provides them with the chance to use their new negotiating power to renegotiate leases or upgrade their warehouse space.
According to CBRE, the user-friendly market environment means that location and building decisions are becoming increasingly complex: In the CBRE European Logistics Occupier Survey 2025, at least a third of respondents named seven site factors and five building-related criteria as decisive—compared with five and four in 2024 and four and one in 2023, respectively.
“Both in site selection and in choosing concrete spaces, logistics users are clearly more selective,” said Jack Cox, Head of European Industrial & Logistics at CBRE. “Rent price has lost importance; the focus is now more on strategic corporate objectives.”
Executives expected portfolio optimization
and maximum business value.
Unlike in 2023, the study reports, price at the location level is no longer the most important decision criterion. Today, availability and the cost of labor are at the top, followed by general space availability.
At the building level, however, price remains the decisive factor according to CBRE. At the same time, sustainability features and a secure energy supply are increasingly gaining importance.
Willingness to pay for CO2-neutral buildings is significantly higher (65 percent) than for merely certified sustainable objects (47 percent), according to the survey. An outcome that is in line with many users’ goal of achieving a climate-neutral real estate balance by 2030.
“Users want real on-site benefits, not just a certification,” sums up Deppisch. “Heat pumps or battery storage are two exemplary ESG factors that can be directly translated into business
