Our Market Outlook
> Focusing on the fundamentals: In an environment where we can't expect to be bailed out by yield compression, we are fiercely focused on location, future supply and replacement cost. We have invested in the sector across multiple cycles which guides us on where to lean in so we can create alpha and capture upside.
> Drivers for growth: Following the 2022 inflation spike and the 2025 trade shock, we expect Europe's core economies to grow at normalised pace in 2026-2027, with progressively stronger activity supported by monetary policy given that inflation is at target. Continuing e-commerce growth (European online sales significantly lag the US) and increased defence spending provide further tailwinds to the industrial sector.
> A great buying opportunity: Not only do we benefit from a 20% discount to peak pricing, but the 2018-2021 buying spree and liquidity needs mean there are many owners pressured to sell. Just watch out not to buy the junk from people cleaning house!
Boreal on the Ground
On the acquisition trail
Selective capital deployment in a stock picker's market has given us the opportunity to purchase high-quality assets at attractive valuations; increasing our exposure to core markets where supply/demand dynamics are the most favourable.
We added 135,000 sqm in Germany, now our largest market with a footprint exceeding 370,000 sqm. Boreal’s pan-European portfolio now includes 53 assets spanning 1.6 million sqm across the UK, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy, in addition to Germany.
Leasing momentum
Despite a softer occupational market, we have have had strong leasing results in 2025, proving our investment strategy and location choices. Demand remains concentrated in core submarkets and generally smaller units. Based on our conversations with occupiers, we expect leasing activity to pick up in 2026. In practice:
> Our asset managers have leased 80,000 sqm of space this year. It has not been easy but there is very little competing supply in our submarkets and we have been able to deliver the right result for our investor.
> Recently delivered projects in Cologne and Madrid are now 84% and 90% leased respectively, validating our investment strategy of developing high-quality modern space at a cyclically low point for supply.
Scaling through development
We have been leveraging our in-house development capabilities to create best-in-class assets in supply-constrained locations. Some of this year’s highlights include:
> Delivering 72,000 sqm of space in Milan and Barcelona – markets where the supply and demand gap is very attractive. The Milan asset is one of only three BREEAM Outstanding logistics assets in Italy.
> Progressing works on a 32,000 sqm project in Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, a Paris industrial cluster where we acquired an existing asset with potential for further development back in 2023. Despite the industrial zoning and support of the local municipality, it took us over two years to receive a building permit, highlighting the challenges of creating new stock in Europe's core markets.
Boreal Out and About
“Accidental Hero”
Founder and CEO Louis-Simon was featured on the cover of the inaugural edition of CRE Media Europe in an interview titled “Accidental hero: What the man who built Logicor did next”.
Read here, or hit reply to request a PDF copy.
Louis-Simon speaks with PERE
Louis-Simon contributed to PERE’s 20th anniversary edition logistics feature “How logistics moved from fringe to mainstream”, alongside Blackstone, Hines, Prologis and GLP.
Read here, or hit reply to request a PDF copy.
An interview with Business Immo/CoStar
Louis-Simon was also interviewed for Business Immo TV, discussing developments in the European logistics real estate sector since the creation of Boreal, as well as our portfolio, strategy and ambitions.
Watch the interview here.
Boreal Home Base
Additions to the team
Ryan Heshmat has joined the Boreal team as an investments & asset management analyst. He speaks four languages fluently, adding to our highly experienced team of multi-disciplinary experts representing 17 nationalities.
Another new “team member” is CLARA, our proprietary database. She supports decision making in an often-opaque market environment. Since CLARA joined the team in 2025, she has been the recipient of 1,500 thoroughly scrubbed leasing and investment comps to give Boreal an immediate and unique competitive advantage.
A different type of asset management project
In addition to continuing to expand and manage our portfolio across Europe, we briefly turn our sights to locations closer to home - our offices.
We moved offices in both London and Paris! Our London HQ is still in the same neighbourhood, Soho, but we're now enjoying a new, right-sized space. We are a tight-knit group but it had gotten a bit too tight in our old digs.
It's a milestone nearly four years into our journey that started in the basement of a WeWork.
Annual stocktake
Every year since our founding, we have taken a couple of days in the summer to convene and reflect on our business, the market, our goals and our ways of working. This year we did this in unseasonably hot weather in the UK, where, after picking apart our collective performance, we tested our teamwork with a bird-themed scavenger hunt, archery and axe-throwing, and then relaxed by a blazing firepit (when it had cooled down). We emerged refreshed and reinforced for our continued growth.
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