Poland’s sale-and-leaseback market could reach another record in 2026. Transaction volume totalled approximately €380 million in the first half of the year and around €390 million after including deals whose prices were not disclosed, compared with €338.6 million a year earlier.
This represents an increase of more than €50 million, or approximately 15% year on year. According to a report prepared by UCE RESEARCH and INWI, the market was driven primarily by major logistics and retail transactions, including the sale of Raben Group’s property portfolio and eight Auchan shopping centres.
The report’s authors expect more transactions to be completed in the second half of the year than in the first, although their average individual value is likely to be lower.
Market continues to expand after record 2025
Following a record 2025, when the number of sale-and-leaseback transactions increased by an estimated 25–30% year on year, the first six months of 2026 brought further growth in market value.
Importantly, the structure of the market has also changed. Last year’s result was driven to a large extent by one exceptionally large transaction: the sale of two Eko-Okna factories for more than €250 million, equivalent to over PLN 1 billion.
In 2026, portfolio transactions and greater sectoral diversification have played a much more significant role.
“In the first half of 2026, we observed an increase in investment volume of approximately €50 million, or PLN 220 million, which represents growth of around 15% year on year. Between January and the end of June, three transactions covering 16 properties were recorded. In the corresponding period of the previous year, there were five transactions involving 10 properties,” said Agnieszka Radkiewicz, co-author of the report and an expert at INWI.
She noted that the estimates cover only publicly disclosed transactions.
“Some sale-and-leaseback agreements are not announced publicly, so the actual size of the market may be even greater,” Radkiewicz added.
The publicly disclosed transaction volume amounted to approximately €380 million. After estimating the value of transactions whose prices were not disclosed, the total reached around €390 million, compared with €338.6 million in the first half of 2025.
The conclusions are based on publicly available investment-market data for the first six months of 2026 and the corresponding period of the previous year.
The market is also attracting a broader base of international investors and becoming more diversified across sectors. Foreign capital increasingly views Poland as one of the key sale-and-leaseback markets in Central and Eastern Europe.
“The main factors driving growth include companies’ increasing interest in releasing capital tied up in their own properties, the inflow of foreign capital and the standardisation of sale-and-leaseback structures. Standardisation lowers the entry barrier for more companies,” Radkiewicz said.
Auchan and Raben deals dominate the first half
According to UCE RESEARCH analysts, two particularly large transactions were completed during the first half of 2026.
The largest involved the sale of eight Auchan shopping centres located in Białystok, Częstochowa, Gliwice, Legnica, Łomianki, Sosnowiec, Kołbaskowo and Wałbrzych.
The portfolio comprises approximately 208,000 sq m of leasable space and was independently valued at more than €210 million, equivalent to almost PLN 900 million.
The transaction was structured as a sale-and-leaseback deal. Auchan remains the principal tenant under a 15-year lease with an extension option, while the new owner intends to further develop the properties and attract additional tenants.
The second major transaction was the sale of Raben Group’s logistics portfolio for €169 million, or approximately PLN 720–725 million.
The portfolio has a total area of more than 150,000 sq m and includes four assets forming a logistics campus in Poznań, as well as four warehouse and cross-dock facilities in other locations across Poland.
The transaction was completed in two tranches. Seven properties were transferred in January, while the final asset was sold in February. The entire portfolio was leased back to Raben Group under 15-year triple-net agreements.
The Raben transaction is regarded as a model example of a mission-critical property deal. The investor acquired assets that are essential to the operator’s business, supported by long-term leases and income protected against inflation.
The two largest deals completed during the first half of the year had a combined value of approximately €380 million, or around PLN 1.6 billion.
For comparison, the record transaction volume for the whole of 2025 amounted to approximately PLN 3.5 billion. Just two transactions completed in the first half of 2026 therefore accounted for almost half of the previous year’s full-year record.
Logistics and retail lead the market
Logistics, warehousing and retail were the sectors making the greatest use of sale-and-leaseback transactions in the first half of 2026.
Across Poland’s broader real-estate investment market, the warehouse sector was the clear leader during the period. In the first quarter alone, it accounted for approximately 44% of completed investment volume. After five months, the value of warehouse-sector transactions was estimated at more than €700 million.
The Raben transaction accounted for a significant part of this result.
Logistics properties are particularly well suited to the sale-and-leaseback model because warehouses and distribution centres are frequently mission-critical assets. They can also be covered relatively easily by standardised, long-term triple-net leases.
“Retail is the second pillar of the market. The sale of eight Auchan shopping centres showed that sale-and-leaseback transactions have returned to the large-format retail segment, while strong investor interest in retail parks has also continued,” Radkiewicz said.
“For retail chains, sale-and-leaseback is a way to finance modernisation and expansion while continuing to operate the property,” she added.
Market becomes less dependent on megadeals
In the first half of 2025, the manufacturing sector dominated the market due to the record Eko-Okna transaction, which was responsible for a substantial part of the year’s overall value.
In 2026, the centre of gravity shifted towards logistics and retail.
According to the report, this does not indicate weakness in the manufacturing sector. Instead, it reflects gradual market normalisation and greater diversification.
The market is no longer dependent on a single industrial megadeal. Transaction volume is now distributed more evenly across several sectors.
“This is precisely the qualitative change that distinguishes 2026 from 2025: the transition from a market built around one record-breaking transaction to a more diversified market,” Radkiewicz said.
More transactions expected in the second half
The report’s authors expect the second half of 2026 to bring a larger number of transactions than the first, although the individual deals are likely to be smaller.
Most of the processes currently being prepared are medium-sized transactions worth between several million and several dozen million euros. They typically involve individual properties or smaller portfolios.
Provided that the current pace is maintained and the announced transactions are completed, the full-year volume could exceed the record set in 2025, when the market reached approximately PLN 3.5 billion.
“Growth in the second half of the year will be driven primarily by logistics and warehousing, where investor demand for mission-critical assets remains the strongest, as well as by retail, particularly retail parks,” Radkiewicz said.
“We also expect the manufacturing sector to return, as sale-and-leaseback is becoming an increasingly attractive alternative to bank financing. This scenario is supported by the number of processes currently under way and the level of interest from foreign capital,” she added.
According to Radkiewicz, all indications suggest that Poland will further strengthen its position as one of the most important sale-and-leaseback markets in Central and Eastern Europe.
