Romania’s industrial and logistics market continued its upward trajectory in 2025, with more than 300,000 square metres of modern space delivered, bringing total stock to approximately 8 million square metres, according to Colliers’ annual report. The year was marked by a record level of demand, with publicly announced leasing transactions totalling close to 1 million square metres – a volume well above the annual average recorded in the pre-pandemic period. Over the medium and long term, the market remains well supported by consumption, growing foreign trade and accelerated infrastructure investments, even if, in the short term, economic caution may temper some investment decisions.

“A significant share of new developments in 2025 took place outside Bucharest, signalling a clear expansion of the market towards cities and regions offering better labour availability and more competitive costs. This trend has attracted both established developers and new entrants. CTP and WDP continued to expand their portfolios, while developers such as VGP, Element Industrial, Logicor and Industra Parks accelerated their growth plans. At the same time, Garbe Industrial and Hillwood are preparing for their first pre-leasing deals on the local market, while Lion’s Head has already launched its first project”, notes Victor Coșconel, Partner | Head of Leasing | Office & Industrial Agencies at Colliers.

Demand for industrial and logistics space reached a record high in 2025, with publicly announced leasing transactions amounting to nearly 1 million square metres, compared to around 600,000 square metres in 2024. This volume is well above the annual average recorded between 2017 and 2019 and confirms the maturation of the local market. Colliers consultants emphasise that these figures include only publicly announced transactions, meaning that actual demand is most likely higher, given the significant number of direct transactions that are not publicly reported.

Leasing activity was concentrated primarily in Bucharest, where companies such as LPP, Action and Aquila signed major transactions in the northern and western areas of the capital, together accounting for almost a quarter of total demand in 2025. At the same time, the market is becoming increasingly diversified, driven by a higher number of mid-sized transactions. As a result, the average transaction size declined to approximately 7,500 square metres, compared with nearly 9,000 square metres in 2020. More than half of the volume – over 500,000 square metres – represented new demand or pre-leases, a clear signal of an active and well-balanced market.

In 2025, most transactions came from the logistics and retail sectors, which together generated at least two thirds of total demand, supported by domestic consumption. A large share of logistics demand serves local and regional companies focused on the Romanian market. Space leased for manufacturing accounted for a smaller share, of around 11%, a decline considered temporary due to the postponement of some projects to 2026 and the fact that many companies prefer to own the facilities in which they operate. Over the medium term, Romania remains attractive as a manufacturing destination, supported by full accession to the Schengen area, ongoing infrastructure improvements and increasingly visible interest from Asian investors, particularly from China.

Rents stabilised in 2025, with a built-to-suit warehouse in a prime location being leased, on average, at 4.5 – 5 euro per square metre in Bucharest and in the country’s main cities. By comparison, before 2021, rents were below 4 euro per square metre, indicating that the adjustments of recent years have already been absorbed by the market. At the same time, the vacancy rate remains low, at around 5% nationwide, although the delivery of speculative projects by established developers and new players could create greater flexibility for tenants in the period ahead.

“One of Romania’s key strengths continues to be the rapid pace of infrastructure investment. The motorway and express road network has expanded from less than 1,000 kilometres before the pandemic to approximately 1,400 kilometres at present, with more than 300 kilometres expected to be delivered in 2026 alone. Over the longer term, a further 1,000 kilometres are in various stages of planning or construction, which will improve regional connectivity and open up new areas for industrial and logistics developments”, concludes Victor Coșconel, Partner | Head of Leasing | Office & Industrial Agencies at Colliers.

Relative to consumption levels and the intensity of foreign trade, Romania’s stock of industrial and logistics space remains undersized compared with other Central and Eastern European markets, supporting medium- and long-term growth prospects. In this context, the Romanian industrial and logistics market is expected to exceed the 8 million square metre threshold in 2026. Over the medium term, Colliers consultants believe that reaching a level of more than 10 million square metres is realistic, while by the end of the next decade, total stock could reach 15 million square metres, assuming a relatively stable external environment and the continued roll-out of infrastructure investments.