The real estate services provider CBRE announced on September 4, 2025 the results of the “European Logistics Occupier Survey 2025.” The survey is based on assessments by more than 100 logistics users in Europe with an estimated total usable space of 85 to 95 million square meters. Accordingly, 96 percent of respondents plan to file additional or at least flat new space demand in the coming twelve months. Notably, CBRE said that after April 2, 2025, the date of the introduction of new US trade policies, a higher share of surveyed companies expressed rising demand. This may be related to disruptions in supply chains.
Expansion in the coming years remains limited
With regard to the next three years, a more differentiated picture emerges. CBRE says
that 46 percent of respondents plan an expansion, while twelve percent are considering reducing their occupied space. Demand is driven particularly by logistics service providers as well as parcel and postal companies. CBRE attributes this mainly to the continued outsourcing of supply chains. Production facilities, by contrast, are more cautious. Thus 19 percent of the surveyed industrial companies intend to shrink their space portfolio.
“The mid-term expansion plans of the users have weakened, which is a plausible reaction to geopolitical uncertainties and macroeconomic challenges,” explains Dr. Carl Deppisch, Head of European Industrial & Logistics Occupier at CBRE. “Our study also shows that the users are resilient. Even though large-scale expansion projects are currently hard to justify, many companies find ways to adapt to the changed
conditions. Compared with the pandemic years, users today have more options again. This gives them the chance to use their increased bargaining power to renegotiate leases or upgrade their warehouse space.”
Site selection now follows new criteria
The study clarifies that the selection criteria in site search have changed. According to CBRE, respondents in 2025 cited an average of seven factors that play a central role in the decision. In 2024 it was five, in 2023 only four. At the level of site selection, the property price is no longer at the top. Priority now lies with the availability and the cost of labor as well as general space availability.
“Both in site selection and in the selection of specific spaces, logistics users are clearly
more selective,” says Jack Cox, Head of European Industrial & Logistics at CBRE. “Rental prices have lost significance; the focus is now more on strategic corporate goals. Executives expect portfolio optimization and maximum business value.”
Building requirements put sustainability at the forefront
In the evaluation of individual properties, price remains the most important decision criterion according to the CBRE survey. At the same time, the importance of sustainability features and a secured energy supply is growing. 65 percent of respondents said they would be willing to incur higher costs for climate-neutral buildings. For properties with a purely sustainability certification, this applies to only 47 percent. The results are linked to the goals of many users to achieve a climate-neutral real estate balance by 2030. (av)
