Last-mile logistics is structurally the most supply-constrained sub-sector of European industrial real estate. Prime urban last-mile assets in London, Paris, Munich and Amsterdam trade at yields of 4.50%–5.50% with rental growth well above the wider logistics average. The winning strategy is to buy scarcity — sites within 30-minute delivery of dense population — and hold long.
Last-mile logistics real estate is the property that houses the final leg of delivery from a fulfilment centre to the end customer. It typically sits inside or adjacent to dense urban catchments, in facilities of 3,000 to 15,000 sqm, on plots that are increasingly hard to replicate because of zoning and land-price competition from residential.
As Prologis' Last Touch® research shows, urban last-touch facilities generate rental growth well above the wider logistics benchmark because supply cannot follow demand — municipalities do not release enough industrial land inside city rings.
Underwrite scarcity, not yield. The right question is how replaceable the site is inside a 30-minute drive of the city centre. Prime sites should be modelled with above-market rental growth (3%–6% per year for the first cycle) and conservative exit yields (25–50 basis points wider than entry) to capture the trade properly.
For context on how last-mile fits inside the broader European rental picture, see the European warehouse rental growth 2026 article and our earlier last-mile investment guide.
A last-mile logistics facility is a small-to-mid-size warehouse (typically 3,000–15,000 sqm) located inside or adjacent to a dense urban catchment. It handles the final leg of delivery from a regional fulfilment centre to the end customer, and is the tightest sub-sector of European industrial real estate.
Prime European urban last-mile assets trade at 4.50%–5.50% depending on city. London, Paris, Munich and Amsterdam are at the tight end. Warsaw and other Central European cities offer 5.75%–6.25% with faster rental growth from a lower base.
Because supply is capped. Urban zoning does not release enough industrial land inside city rings, and remaining sites compete with residential and mixed-use at 5–20× the industrial value. Rents rise to ration scarce capacity rather than to signal new supply.
Long-hold with periodic refinancing is the dominant institutional strategy — last-mile is a compounding scarcity trade. Alternative exits include portfolio aggregation to a REIT or sovereign investor, or a fund-to-fund vehicle sale after 5–7 years of proven rental growth.