The recent boom in the industrial sector indicates that businesses’ faith in the Czech economy is on the rise. Warehouse development is gaining momentum, with more than 120,000 sqm of industrial space added to the market in the first half of 2014, compared to 108,000 sqm in the same period last year. Leasing activity was dominated by lease extensions, according to Cushman & Wakefield, accounting for 56 percent of all take-up. In Prague, it was even higher at 66 percent.
“The fact that companies prolonged their leases in currently leased premises reflect their trust in the Czech economy. Both manufacturers and logistics operators expect that their goods and services will continue being in demand,” says Ferdinand Hlobil, head of Cushman & Wakefield’s CEE industrial team.
PointPark Properties, Prologis and Panattoni delivered more than half of the H1 supply, each adding 23,000 sqm to the market. The two biggest facilities completed in Q2 were a unit for DHL (18,000 sqm) at CTPark Mlada Boleslav and a unit for Ideal Automotive (17,000 sqm) at Panattoni Park Stribro. Approximately 570,000 sqm of space was leased in the Czech Republic in the first half of this year (of which 220,000 sqm were in Prague), 100,000 sqm up from the same period last year (472,000 sqm). The vacancy rate decreased slightly to the current 6.5 percent.
