Sell logistics & industrial in Cologne.

The Köln and Rhein-Erft industrial and logistics leasing market entered 2026 on a markedly stronger footing after a subdued 2024-2025. According to BNP Paribas Real Estate, Köln recorded the highest take-up of any major German logistics hub in the first quarter of 2026, with roughly 152,000 sqm and an exceptional year-on-year jump of around 375 percent, driven by two very large rental contracts from logistics service providers. Realogis, which applies a tighter regional definition, registered a more modest but still strongly improved volume. This divergence reflects different market-area methodologies rather than contradictory signals, and both confirm a clear revival in occupier activity led by big-box freight-forwarding and parcel demand. The rebound followed a full-year 2025 in which Realogis counted 244,800 sqm of take-up, slightly below the five-year average, with the five largest deals (Sellvin, Dachser, Barnet Europe, ParcelJet and DSV) accounting for almost half of all activity and logistics/forwarding remaining the dominant user sector. Rents have proven resilient throughout the downturn. BNP Paribas reported a prime rent of 7.90 euros per square metre per month in late 2025, lifted by the scarcity of modern space in central locations, while Realogis put the year-end prime at 8.00 euros and the average at 6.85 euros. The defining feature of the market is supply scarcity rather than weak demand: the amount of space available at short notice, particularly in central trimodal nodes such as Köln-Eifeltor with its DUSS combined-transport terminal and the Rhine-port belt around Niehl, falls well short of requirements. As a result, new big-box development has migrated westward into the Rhein-Erft-Kreis along the A4 corridor toward Kerpen, where larger contiguous plots and former lignite-conversion land are available. Demand fundamentals remain favourable thanks to Köln's central position in the Rhine-Ruhr conurbation, its trimodal infrastructure and a strong KEP cluster around Köln Bonn Airport and Gremberghoven. Risks centre on the broader macro environment: persistently weak German industrial output, the restructuring at Ford's Niehl plant, and the dependence of headline take-up on a small number of mega-deals all inject volatility. Planning constraints and lengthy approval timelines further limit how quickly new supply can respond. The most attractive opportunities over the next twelve months lie in delivering ESG-certified, PV-ready new builds in the western Rhein-Erft corridor to meet undersupplied institutional demand, and in capturing scarcity premiums for last-mile and urban-logistics units near the airport and the inner city. Overall the leasing market sits in an early-recovery phase, with firm rents and a constrained core supporting landlords even as occupier confidence rebuilds unevenly.

take up: 152,000 sqm Q1 2026; Prime rent: 7.9 EUR/sqm/month; average rent: 6.85 EUR/sqm/month.