Czech Republic, Hungary and Ireland lead European logistics investment

While 2024 saw a 15% year-over-year rise in European logistics real estate investment, reaching €38.2 bn, momentum slowed considerably in Q1 2025, according to Savills research.

Andrew Blennerhassett, associate director, UK & EMEA Logistics Research at Savills, 

The positive performance was primarily due to a strong finish to the year, with €12 bn invested during the fourth quarter.
Investment dropped 38% compared to the previous quarter and 16% year-over-year, totaling €7.5 bn. 
Despite this slowdown, some markets experienced significant growth in Q1 2025 compared to Q1 2024, most notably the Czech Republic (1358%), Hungary (445%), and Ireland (371%).
Among the more established markets, Italy (95%), Spain (81%), and Poland (47%) also saw substantial investment increases. 
Meanwhile, industrial vacancy rates across Europe have started to climb again after a period of decline, reaching 6.62% in Q1 2025, up from 5.91%.
Savills' 2024 European Logistics census revealed a growing investor preference for established, central locations. Germany, France, and Spain attracted the most attention, with 65%, 56%, and 54% of investor interest, respectively.
Andrew Blennerhassett, associate director, UK & EMEA Logistics Research at Savills, said: “With the geopolitical environment remaining highly unstable, we would expect take-up to decline in Q2 with a potential V-shaped recovery by the end of the year. The best historical example of a change in the status quo for global trade is Brexit. Looking back take-up in the UK fell by 30% in 2017 post-referendum before recovering the following year, rising by 41%.”
Peter Kirk, director in Savills pan-European logistics team, added: “A notable trend in 2025 is the shift in investor preference from big-box, single-tenant assets to multi-let properties. Multi-let assets are increasingly attractive due to their ability to diversify tenant risk, offering greater resilience compared to single-tenant investments. We have also seen that debt has become cheaper and more accretive in the last few weeks.”