1. The three scopes and their 2026 ranges
| Scope | Content | Indicative range 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Basic envelope | Foundations, standard slab, structure, roof, cladding | €250 – 450/m² |
| Complete building | Adds installations (electrical, fire protection, ventilation) and basic offices | €350 – 650/m² |
| Turnkey with plot | Adds external works, connections, permits and fees | €500 – 900/m² |
This table reconciles the market's figures: references of €120 to €250/m² describe simple large envelopes or basic prefabricated units; €200 to €500/m² describe complete buildings; higher figures incorporate plot and development. No industrial figure can be interpreted without identifying its scope.
2. Ranges by typology
At complete-building scope, PEM (direct works budget) per built m²:
| Typology | Indicative PEM 2026 |
|---|---|
| Agricultural or simple storage building | €250 – 400/m² |
| Standard industrial unit (workshop, SME) | €350 – 650/m² |
| Unit with integrated offices (10 – 15 % of area) | €450 – 750/m² |
| Large logistics platform | €400 – 600/m² |
| Cold store or specialised process building | €800 – 1,500/m² and above |
3. Chapter breakdown
For a 1,000 m² unit, clear height under 8 m, mid-range finishes, unit values at envelope scope:
| Chapter | Order of magnitude |
|---|---|
| Earthworks, foundations and drainage | €20 – 35/m² |
| Standard concrete slab | €20 – 30/m² |
| Structure | €40 – 70/m² |
| Roof (sandwich panel) | €30 – 70/m² |
| Cladding | €35 – 60/m² |
| Electrical installation and lighting | €25 – 60/m² |
| Fire protection (without sprinklers) | €10 – 30/m² |
| Sprinklers with tank and pumping (where required) | €25 – 45/m² |
| Integrated offices | €900 – 1,400/m² of office |
The plot's external works (roads, yard, parking, fencing, buried networks) are budgeted separately: €60 to €150 per m² of developed plot depending on finish level. On low-coverage plots, this chapter rivals the building itself.
4. The factors that move the ratio
Size. The scale effect is strong: a 500 m² unit can cost 20 or 30 % more per m² than an equivalent 5,000 m² one, because perimeter foundations, cladding and fixed costs spread less favourably. This is why published ranges for small units systematically look expensive.
Clear height. Moving from 8 to 12 m increases structure, cladding and fire protection more than proportionally. Height is decided by the planned internal logistics (racking, gantry cranes), not by caution.
The structural family. Steel: fast, economical at the lower ranges, sensitive to steel prices. Precast concrete: better fire performance (reduces passive protection), durability and impact resistance, dominant in logistics and at large scale. The real trade-off incorporates the fire resistance required by the activity and local supply lead times.
The floor slab. As soon as there is high racking or intense forklift traffic, it shifts from ordinary item to critical item: thickness, flatness and joints are sized for the operation, and a high-performance slab can cost double a conventional one. Its defects are the most expensive to repair in the whole building.
Fire protection. The chapter grows in regulatory steps with floor area, compartmentation and the activity's fire load. A change of activity or stored goods can reopen it entirely: budgeting fire protection requires knowing the operation, not just the building.
5. Complete example: 2,000 m² unit on a 5,000 m² plot
| Block | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Complete building | 2,000 m² × €500/m² | €1,000,000 |
| Integrated offices (150 m²) | 150 × 1,100 | €165,000 |
| Plot external works | 3,000 developed m² × €100/m² | €300,000 |
| Total PEM | €1,465,000 | |
| Contract budget (+19 %) | ≈ €1,743,000 | |
| Fees, permits, connections | ≈ 12 – 16 % of PEM | ≈ €205,000 |
| Approximate total excluding land and VAT | ≈ €1,950,000 (≈ €975/m² of building) |
The example illustrates the typology's central rule: the building ratio (€500/m²) and the operation's real cost per m² of building (here almost double) are different magnitudes, separated by offices, plot and the development chain. Confusing the two magnitudes is the most frequent error in appraising industrial land.
6. The two analyses in this branch
Industrial building cost per m². The general case in detail: scopes, breakdown, size effect and the five project variables.
Cost of a large logistics platform. The specialised case: high-performance slab, docks (€15,000 – 30,000 per unit), large-area fire protection and external works over several hectares.
Note: indicative ranges and examples for Spain in 2026, variable by region, project and market.