A few bright spots in a sluggish logistics market

After a year in 2024 in which the €4 billion deployed in logistics real estate (+105% vs. 2023) and €1.3 billion invested in business premises (+4% vs. 2023) enabled what the Anglo-Saxons call the "industrial" sector to become the most transacted asset class in France for the first time, the latter stalled slightly in the^first half of 2025.

Admittedly, despite a declining rental market - as evidenced by a 17% drop in take-up of logistics warehouses to 1.5 million m2 - investment in logistics and industrial real estate remained relatively stable over the period at €1.7 billion, according to Immostat, with logistics alone accounting for around €1.5 billion. However, the market environment could become tense in the second half of the year.

"There are a lot of economic, political and tax uncertainties, so the logistics market could land between €2.5 and €3 billion at the end of the year", predicts Franck Poizat, co-director of the industrial division of BNP Paribas Real Estate Advisory France, noting that the French market should be driven more by unit assets.

Nevertheless, the^1st half of 2025 was not devoid of large-scale transactions, with Business Immo having identified around ten deals involving a volume in excess of €50m. These deals were driven primarily by international players, starting with EQT Real Estate, which made the most significant acquisition of the half-year with the purchase of the Occident portfolio from Blackstone for €150 million. Sometimes, however, they were orchestrated by French operating partners, such as Factor'Industry Real Estate, which accompanied Ares Management in the acquisition of the Sun portfolio, or Alderan, alongside PGIM Real Estate for the sale of the Warenet portfolio.

(*) In the due diligence phase prior to the acquisition of these two assets already occupied by Amazon.