A real game changer

‘Eurobuild CEE’: Could you briefly explain what’s going on in the warehouse sector, because we have Covid-19 on the one hand and on the other record leasing activity. In the first half of the year alone a stunning 2.4 mln sqm was leased. How have warehouses managed to break yet another record even during a pandemic? Tom Listowski, a partner and the head of industrial and warehouses for Central and Eastern Europe at Cresa: We entered 2020 with a significant pipeline of large transactions, both in their closing stages and being planned, coupled with many new development projects already under construction across the country. Covid-19 was the catalyst for the further acceleration in the expansion of the market with e-commerce being the major driver. Although new acquisitions dominated the demand levels, renewals and renegotiations of existing lease agreements were also strong, especially among occupiers, who decided prematurely to extend lease contracts as a trade-off f