Poland’s industrial sector takes stock as economy adjusts: 7R

Poland’s proximity to Ukraine is one of the key influences on the country’s industrial and logistics real estate market but other economic factors are also in play.

“The 3PL sector, which is pretty much the biggest one right now, is focused on the on customer spending reports and they are double checking how inflation will interfere with consumer appetite,” said Łukasz Jachna, who is a board member, and chief capital markets officer of Polish industrial and logistics specialist 7R.

“It’s clear there are some signals that we may enter into slight stagflation mode. We will see how it goes, especially after another interest rate increase a couple of weeks ago,” he added.

7R is one of the fastest growing industrial developers in Poland and is now also looking to other markets in the region, beginning with the Czech Republic. The company is active in all of the core and emerging markets in Poland and has build-to-suit and multi letting strategies but has also been one of the first Polish real estate companies to develop a last-mile product, Citiflex.

“We are looking very closely for the newly emerging markets in Poland, especially after what happened in Ukraine,” Jachna said which talking to Real Asset Insight’s Richard Betts.

The whole of the eastern side of Poland is trying to assess how the business from Ukraine and Russia will react, especially for international clients, he added.

“They believe that the east side will benefit because of its great infrastructure and great road network. And, the workforce is there.”

Recruitment is a major consideration. “The unemployment rate is at a record low and there is pressure to increase wages. We are still competitive compared to western European countries but at the same time everyone is careful to identify locations with the mid to long-term availability of workers.”