Growth in the retail sector will continue to be one of the key drivers for industrial real estate deals this year according to Nick Preston, Panattoni's head of investment management.
Speaking with CoStar News at Mipim 2024, Preston said colleagues in Europe were seeing increased tenant interest after a muted 2023, when rising interest rates and inflation cooled occupier appetite for warehouses.
But Preston, who stepped into the new role last November, says there is a confidence returning across both the occupational and investment markets, as the wider economic environment calms, and businesses like Amazon begin to hunt for shed space again.
He said: "Chatting to some of my colleagues from around Europe within the Panattoni group, they've noticed a real change since the New Year in terms of tenant enquiries... When there was previously one enquiry a month, there are now seeing one enquiry a week regarding certain projects."
He continued: "The trajectory of growth for online retail across Europe is still very strong and growing, and that is one of the key drivers we are seeing in the logistics market and we don't expect that to change."
Watch the video above to hear more of Preston's thoughts about European industrial property prospects for this year.