Panattoni Europe has retained the position of European market leader. It is preparing new-generation buildings in Europe.

According to PropertyEU’s latest Top Property Developers ranking, Panattoni Europe has defended its position of the most active and largest industrial developer in Europe. From 2015 to 2017, it marketed 3.8 million sqm of industrial space, increasing the record development of 2.71 million sqm from the period 2014–2016 by 41%. Panattoni Europe is planning to construct additional buildings, offering a total area of 13.1 million sqm to state-of-the-art facilities by 2020.

“The halls are bigger than they used to be in the past, so our construction volumes are also growing. E-commerce demands much more space in one building than traditional retail, due to a great emphasis on consolidation and efficiency,” says Robert Dobrzycki, CEO of Panattoni Europe. “In Central Europe and other regions where we are very active, the transport infrastructure has improved, and our clients have decided to centralize their operation under one roof. That’s why so many “big boxes” are being created, and we see a great opportunity in them,” he adds.

Centralization is effective not only in terms of costs, but also in terms of addressing environmental impacts. Panattoni Europe’s outlook for the following period confirms the issue of centralization. In Poland, it is preparing two halls with a lettable area of 300,000 sqm and 320,000 sqm. The company has also provided information on its first development project in the UK, where it took over First Industrial last year. The building in West Midlands will have an area of 334,500 sqm.

As Robert Dobrzycki explains, these parameters could only be achieved following technological progress represented, for example, by the use of robotics in warehouses: “We are building a three-storey hall in Szczecin, North Poland, and a four-storey hall in Sosnowiec, South Poland. These are pioneer projects that must be seen from a different perspective than the existing large ground-floor buildings not exceeding 100,000–120,000 sqm. As for construction, this is a completely different story,” he concludes.

“As the market leader, we want to set an example, so we focus on the preparation of sustainable buildings, which are the basic infrastructure for sophisticated operations. Having announced a major brownfield utilization plan, we are developing a sustainable development strategy and continue to build the position of good neighbour in the Czech Republic,” says Pavel Sovička, Managing Director of Panattoni Europe for the Czech Republic and Slovakia.