According to Savills' latest research analysis, total letting activity in the European logistics market reached around 6.6 million square metres in the first quarter of 2026, an increase of 6% compared to the first quarter of 2025. During the quarter, activity was mainly driven by a number of key markets, with the Netherlands showing the strongest performance (41% quarter-on-quarter increase), followed by the United Kingdom (14%), Belgium (7%) and Spain (6%). Madrid and Barcelona together recorded take-up of over 540,000 m² in the first quarter, an increase of 6% compared to the fourth quarter of 2025 and at the same time the highest quarterly increase.
Sam Quellyn-Roberts, Director in the EMEA Industrial & Logistics Occupational Markets team, says: "With a shortage of high-quality space as a result of the reduced speculative project pipeline, rental growth is robust, especially in core markets, despite some subdued leasing activity. As a result, our Savills European Prime Rent Index has risen by 1.3% over the past three months, and by an average of 2.7% on an annualised basis across Europe."
The European logistics investment market closed 2025 at a high level. In total, the transaction volume amounted to 43.3 billion euros, reaching its highest level since the pandemic. Investment volume in the first quarter of 2026 was €7.5 billion, down 19.2% from the first quarter of 2025. Savills explains that this slowdown is due to investor uncertainty as a result of the conflict in the Middle East and the resulting interest rate pressures that are weighing on the financing market.
George Coleman, Director, UK & EMEA Logistics, Savills, says: "Investors continue to focus on logistics locations and assets in core locations with a robust earnings profile. The most active capital typically continues to be accretion-oriented, with net lease/income funds and French SCPIs becoming increasingly active. In addition, we are seeing strong interest from core capital in first-class properties as well as notable transactions across the region."
