The numbers are clear — and they’re not easing up

European logistics rents increased by 3.6% year-on-year across the continent in 2025, up from 3.4% the year before, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s European logistics rent tracker. More than two-thirds of tracked markets reported growth over the period. CBRE forecasts that rental growth will continue at an average of 2.2% per year through 2026 and 2027, as reported in CBRE’s European Real Estate Market Outlook 2026.

In Belgium, the picture is sharper. Brussels logistics rents surged by 12% in 2025, reaching €75 per square metre per year, according to WarehouseRentInfo.be. In Antwerp, prime logistics rents held steady at approximately €68 per square metre per year, as reported by JLL in their 2025 Belgian commercial real estate review.

These are not spikes. They are structural shifts.

Supply is tightening — not loosening

Only 3.8% of total European logistics stock was under construction by mid-2025, according to CBRE’s mid-year logistics review. That’s not enough to keep pace with demand.

Prologis Research estimates that Europe needs approximately €150 billion of new logistics space just to meet current consumption levels, as published in their 2026 supply chain predictions report. Yet the ability to deliver that supply continues to shrink. Rising construction costs, municipal planning restrictions, and a new constraint — electricity grid capacity — are all limiting the pipeline, according to the same Prologis analysis.

In Belgium specifically, land along the key logistics corridors has become scarce and expensive, hindering further development of traditional logistics warehouses, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s Belgian market report.

Vacancy along the Brussels–Antwerp axis is among Europe’s lowest

The vacancy rate along the Brussels–Antwerp corridor — Belgium’s primary logistics spine — stood at just 2.33% at the end of 2025, according to JLL’s Belgian market review. That’s significantly below the European average of 6.3%.

For context, Savills’ Q3 2025 European Logistics Outlook reported that the European weighted average vacancy rate fell to 6.8% that quarter, with the Netherlands seeing a 20-basis-point drop in the same period.

Prologis forecasts that the European vacancy rate could fall below 5% if supply pipelines are managed properly and economic growth picks up, as noted in their rent growth inflection analysis.

When availability is this low, you don’t shop around for warehouse space. You secure it.

Investor confidence is surging — and that tells you something

Belgium’s logistics investment market hit €1.27 billion in 2025 — a 169% increase year-on-year and the most successful year ever recorded for industrial real estate in the country, according to JLL. The sale of the Weerts portfolio to Intervest for €300 million was a landmark transaction.

In the Netherlands, investment volumes rose by 86% relative to 2024, according to Savills’ European Logistics Outlook.

Institutional money is flowing into logistics real estate precisely because the fundamentals are strong: low vacancy, rising rents, and structural demand from e-commerce, nearshoring, and supply chain resilience strategies.

What this means for businesses managing EU and UK flows

If your supply chain runs through the Benelux — and particularly through the ports of Antwerp-Bruges or Rotterdam — the market is sending a clear signal. Warehouse capacity in prime locations is finite. Rents are moving in one direction. And the new supply to relieve pressure is not arriving fast enough.

For businesses moving goods between the UK and the EU, this adds another layer of complexity. Post-Brexit customs requirements already demand bonded warehouse access, customs clearance capability, and an operator who understands both sides of the Channel. Combining that with the ability to guarantee space in a tight market is a genuine competitive advantage.

Middlegate Europe operates over 42,000 square metres of warehouse capacity across Zeebrugge, Liège, and Hull. We own and operate our warehouses, our fleet of 120+ tractors and 220+ trailers, and our in-house customs team. That means we control the space, the transport, and the compliance — without relying on third-party availability that is increasingly difficult to secure.

Securing capacity is a strategic decision, not an operational one

The data from JLL, Cushman & Wakefield, Savills, CBRE, and Prologis all point in the same direction: Europe’s logistics market is structurally tight, rents are rising, and new supply is constrained by costs, planning barriers, and grid limitations.

For businesses that need reliable warehouse space in the Benelux — particularly with bonded capabilities and UK connectivity — the window to lock in capacity with the right partner is narrowing.

That’s not a sales pitch. It’s what the market is telling you.