Market Report: Industry & Logistics, Cologne, First Half of 2026
The Cologne market for industrial and logistics space recorded a total take-up of 130,500 m² in the first half of 2026. This represents a 42 percent increase compared to the same period last year and a 30 percent increase compared to the five-year average. This result was driven by large-scale transactions involving Chinese companies. This is shown in the latest Industrial & Logistics Market Report from Angermann NRW GmbH.
“Asian buyers are taking advantage of the current market environment to consolidate their business in Germany,” says Patrick Sohns, Managing Partner of Industrial & Logistics at Angermann NRW.
Cologne Is Growing Faster Than the National Market
To put this in perspective: Nationwide, space take-up in the first half of 2026 stood at around three million square meters, according to an analysis by CBRE, representing an 11 percent increase over the previous year. Cologne has thus grown nearly four times as fast as the overall market. This is due less to a broad-based recovery than to a few large transactions: 39 percent of the space take-up was accounted for by leases of 12,000 m² or more. The largest transaction of the half-year was the lease of 35,000 m² by Goodcang Logistics in Bergheim.
Logistics Service Providers Are Dominating the Market
The structure of demand has shifted. Around 70 percent of the space brokered went to logistics service providers, while retail and e-commerce, as direct users, accounted for only 17 percent. Industry, manufacturing, and skilled trades accounted for five percent. The reason is not weaker retail demand, but rather a shift: Online retailers are increasingly outsourcing fulfillment to service providers and no longer lease space themselves.
Rents stable — with upward pressure
The prime rent stood at €8.00/m², and the average rent at €6.50/m². Both figures remain unchanged from the end of 2025. Rent ranges from €5.50 to €6.75 per square meter in Cologne’s existing stock to €7.50 to €9.00 per square meter in new construction; in the surrounding areas, they are each about 50 cents lower. Given falling vacancy rates and sustained demand from overseas, Angermann NRW sees room for further increases.
The Real Story
Cologne’s logistics market is growing in an economic environment that actually works against it. It is doing so because international users are using the German market as a gateway right now. That’s good news for owners—and a dependency that one should be aware of. If the momentum from the Far East were to dry up, the market would lose its second pillar in the short term.
Outlook for the Second Half of the Year
Further transactions in the 10,000 m² and above segment are already on the horizon. All three of Angermann NRW’s sentiment indicators are pointing upward accordingly: rising space take-up, falling vacancy rates, and rising average rents.
Download the full market report
The Cologne Industrial & Logistics Market Report, First Half of 2026, also includes the top 5 deals of the half-year, the complete breakdown by size class and industry, as well as rent ranges for Cologne and the surrounding area.
Download the H1 2026 Market Report