A large part of the year’s record demand came from retailers, including the fast moving consumer goods sector, which expanded their presence countrywide, as well as from various companies seeking to expand online.
Modern logistics and industrial stock in Romania reached 5.7 million sqm in 2020, half a million more than in 2019. The country still has room for growth on this segment, compared with other markets in Central and Eastern Europe, Colliers said. Romania has around half the stock per capita compared with Poland and around a quarter compared with Czech Republic.
Around half of new logistics and industrial space deliveries in 2020 were in Bucharest.
“Bucharest remains the heart of the local logistics market but more and more new warehouses are being developed outside the capital city as well. CTP and WDP remain the top players and VGP recently started developing new projects. There are also a few new names on the market with the potential for major investments in the next peridod, such as Globalworth / Global Vision and Element Industrial,” said Vlad Mustata, Associate Industrial Agency at Colliers.
Bucharest also reigned supreme in terms of demand, generating over 70% of all leases in 2020, followed at a distance by Timisoara and Craiova.
The FMCG industry accounted for a third of total demand. Three contracts of retailers Carrefour and Profi were among the year’s biggest transactions and covered 200,000 sqm. The following two sectors – logistics and retail – each generated over 20% of leases.
Consumer-oriented industries therefore accounted for at least two thirds of demand in 2020. In 2019, the automotive industry accounted for one third of demand.