Wroclaw is the third largest warehouse market in Poland. SHEIN and the wave of investments from the Far East

With a view to further tenants, including the largest e-commerce platforms, investors launched a few large projects in the region last year. Some of them are speculative – without pre-leases in place, but on the assumption that interest and demand would emerge quickly.

Wroclaw is the third largest warehouse market in Poland

Anna Domańska, Associate at Newmark Polska: ‘As a result of these decisions, 674,550 sq.m. of modern production and storage space will be added to the Wroclaw market in 2024. And in the first quarter of this year, a further 318,800 sq.m. was put to use. Thus, with a stock of 5,254,400 sq.m. of warehouse and industrial space, Wroclaw overtook Central Poland ( 4,941,100 sq.m.) and became the third largest warehouse market in the country.’

Halls tailored to e-commerce ready for tenants

One of the most modern investments that hit the market at the beginning of this year is the hall with an area of 67,550 sq.m. completed as part of the GLP Wroclaw V Logistics Centre park. Located just beside the S8 road, it has been designed to address the requirements of modern e-commerce.

One of the important features supporting the logistics processes of this sector is the 12-metre height of buildings. The building also incorporates a number of environmentally friendly solutions – all tenants have access to a smart metering system where the individual monitoring of utility consumption is possible.

Among the more interesting investments available for lease is the state-of-the-art EQT Exeter Park Wroclaw South III complex consisting of two halls with the total area of 50,600 sq.m. The facility is located in Bielany Wrocławskie, just off the A4 motorway.

Since the beginning of 2024, the Lower Silesian market has also gained three new halls in the P3 Wroclaw project, as well as investments: another hall within Panattoni Park Wroclaw Logistics South and ECE Kąty Wrocławskie.

SHEIN fashion e-commerce giant from Singapore invests near Wroclaw

Most new warehouses were put to use in Kąty Wrocławskie and Magnice, where there is also the largest number of investments under construction. This is where Singapore-based e-commerce giant SHEIN invests, renting out massive warehouses and creating more than 3,000 new jobs. The Singapore-based company, which sells fashion products in its online shop, describes its business involvement in the Wroclaw area as strategic and promises further growth.

Wroclaw's logistical advantage grows. An excellent place to develop the e-commerce sector

Anna Domańska thinks that the emergence of a large player such as Shein on the Wroclaw market has certainly not escaped the attention of the competition, which is keen to enter proven locations using ready-made solutions.

‘At the same time, our experience shows that companies in this sector make quick decisions and expect immediate access to warehouse space. In this context, developers' decisions on speculative construction projects may turn out to be a very good strategy that will bring the expected results in the long term,’ says Anna Domańska.

Despite a decrease in the growth rate of e-commerce in Poland compared to the years 2020–2023, forecasts are still optimistic. According to the PwC report, the e-commerce market should reach the value of PLN 192 billion by 2028, with an average annual growth rate of 8 per cent.

The expert emphasises that Wroclaw has been an excellent place to develop the e-commerce sector for a long time. ‘The region offers access to A4 and A8 motorways, the S8 expressway, an extensive distribution network and a strong workforce, which are key elements for online ordering operations. A huge advantage of the capital of Lower Silesia, sometimes called the second Silicon Valley, is also the strong presence of companies from IT and new technology sectors, which can act as an operational base for global platforms,’ Domańska points out.

What is the interest in warehouses in Lower Silesia?

Tenants’ interest in warehouse space in Lower Silesia remains stable. In the first quarter of this year, demand in the region totalled 113,600 sq.m., which is close to the average for the same periods in the last five years.

Tenants were most willing to choose locations in Nowa Wieś Wrocławska (19% of demand), Magnice (14%), Bielany Wrocławskie (10%), Wroclaw (9%) and Wojtkowice (8.5%). These five locations accounted for nearly 60% of total demand in the last four quarters.

‘It is also worth noting that the average annual demand in Lower Silesia has exceeded 900,000 sq.m. since 2021, whereas previously we talked rather about the levels of around half a million. This is evidence of the leaping growth of the modern warehouse market in the region,’ comments Anna Domańska.

Among the largest transactions since the beginning of 2024, the expert lists a contract signed by an e-commerce tenant (126,000 sq.m.) in Panattoni Park Wroclaw Logistics South Hub, renewal of the contract by LX Pantos (98,700 sq.m.) in Prime Logistics Wroclaw in Pietrzykowice and a new contract with a fashion company (56,200 sq.m.) in Panattoni Park Legnica.

'The Lower Silesian warehouse market has several strong pillars on the demand side. Alongside the e-commerce sector, tenants from the e-commerce-related 3PL industry and from the traditional retail sector were the most active over the past year. The automotive industry remains an important, although recently less active player due to the slowdown of the German economy,’ says Anna Domańska.

After a record boom. Tenants have plenty to choose from

Despite stable interest from tenants, the pace of new investment in the region has clearly slowed. Responding to the rising vacancy rate, which stood at 11.6 per cent at the end of Q1 (the highest level since 2012), developers have reduced their activity and focused on the commercialisation of the existing space.

As a result, slightly over 36,000 sq.m. of warehouses are currently under construction in the region. One of the ongoing investments is the expansion of Panattoni's largest park in Lower Silesia – Wroclaw Campus 2. A further 25,000 sq.m. of modern warehouse space is under construction, all of which remains available for future tenants.

The high level of available storage space also translates into greater negotiating flexibility among owners. The average asking rent in the region is currently €4.20 – €4.40 per sq.m. and may drop to around €3.80 for older properties. Urban spaces are achieving rates of around €5, which remains an attractive and stable level for business development.

‘The high availability of space is not a negative sign for the market in this case. This is a natural phase of adjustment after years of intense growth. Between 2019 and 2025, almost 3.4 million sq.m. of new space were put to use in Lower Silesia – this accounts for 65 per cent of all current resources,’ says Anna Domańska.

At present, the difference is just over 600,000 sq.m. between Wroclaw and the second largest region, Upper Silesia, and 1.8 million sq.m. between Wroclaw and the market leader Warsaw.

 ‘After a period of very intense development, during which we witnessed record levels of activity by both tenants and developers, the Wroclaw market is entering a phase of stabilisation, creating space for the next wave of demand. It is important that tenants have gained a wide choice of available locations, making Lower Silesia an extremely attractive market from their perspective today,’ concludes Anna Domańska.

Business showcase of Wroclaw: business, development and research centres, IT industry, office space

BSS and R&D centres in Wroclaw

• Modern business service centres (BSS) in Wroclaw: 234 (the largest ones: Kyndryl, BNY Mellon, Capgemini, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlobalLogic, UBS, EY)
• Research and development (R&D) centres in Wroclaw: +100 (the largest ones: 3M, Viessman, Nokia, Dolby) +400, including all scientific units in companies
• Employment: approx. 66,200 persons

IT industry in Wroclaw

• Employment: approx. 20,500

Office space in Wroclaw

• 1.37 million square metres