1. The reference area
In logistics the reference is the internal floor area of the warehouse, measured to the internal face of the walls. It includes circulation aisles, picking and preparation zones, battery charging rooms and dock lobbies, but excludes integrated offices, which are generally counted separately.
That distinction matters: offices integrated into a warehouse cost two to three times more per square metre than the warehouse itself, with office-grade finishes, high-performance services and acoustic insulation. A 20,000 m² warehouse with 1,500 m² of integrated offices must be budgeted on two distinct ratios, not on a single average that would under-state the office part.
Rental value and prime rents
The logistics market is reasoned in rental value per square metre per year. Prime rents in France run from 40 to 75 €/m²/year according to the logistics area, with the north of the Paris region above the Mediterranean south, which is above greater Lyon, which is above the rest.
For an investor the gross rental yield of a new warehouse generally sits between 4.5 and 6.5 %. A warehouse costing 610 €/m² to build in a prime area with a rent of 55 €/m²/year delivers a gross yield of 9.2 %, which explains the structural attraction of logistics property funds.
2. Warehouse types and their ratios
The family covers a very wide spectrum, from the simple storage shed to the automated logistics platform. The table gives the principal types with their construction ratios excluding VAT and their structuring characteristics.
| Type | Construction ratio excl. VAT | Typical eaves height | Specifics | Contingency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple ambient storage | 360 – 560 €/m² | 8 – 10 m | Simple steel structure, concrete slab, a few docks | 5–8 % |
| Standard logistics warehouse | 510 – 710 €/m² | 10 – 12 m | Dock levellers, integrated offices at 5–10 %, high-sensitivity sprinklers | 5–8 % |
| Large logistics platform | 610 – 870 €/m² | 12 – 14 m | Concrete bracing, high-sensitivity sprinklers, offices at 10–15 %, integrated racking | 8–10 % |
| High-bay warehouse, above 15 m | 820 – 1,220 €/m² | 15 – 45 m | Structure for heavy loads, building management, stacker cranes, automation | 10–15 % |
| Chilled cold store | 710 – 1,020 €/m² | 8 – 12 m | Insulation from 120 mm, refrigeration plant, anti-frost heated floor | 10–15 % |
| Frozen cold store | 1,020 – 1,430 €/m² | 8 – 12 m | Insulation from 200 mm, structure for added loads, intensive refrigeration | 12–18 % |
| Bonded or secure warehouse | 610 – 920 €/m² | 10 – 12 m | Reinforced access control, CCTV, sometimes electromagnetic shielding | 8–12 % |
| Light production unit | 710 – 1,220 €/m² | 6 – 10 m | Anti-vibration floor, industrial ventilation, compressed air, lighting above 500 lux | 8–12 % |
These ratios exclude land, fees, and roads and services outside the building. Apply the regional factor for your area.
3. Eaves height: the most structuring parameter
In logistics, eaves height is not a secondary architectural parameter; it is the most structuring economic one after area. It determines storage capacity by volume, the racking configuration, the possibility of automation and the rental value of the asset.
| Eaves height | Effect on the structure | Effect on rental value | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below 8 m | Light structure, simple steel portals | Low, low-level storage only | Craft activity, bulk storage |
| 8 – 10 m | The classic logistics standard, simple pallet racking | Market standard | Regional distribution, light e-commerce |
| 10 – 12 m | Strengthened portal joints, deeper foundations | Premium of 5–10 % per m² | Modern logistics, four to five racking levels |
| 12 – 14 m | Strengthened structure, substantial foundations, wind | Premium of 10–15 % per m² | Large logistics, cross-docking |
| 15 – 20 m | High-strength steel, massive foundations, critical wind loading | Premium of 20–30 % per m² | High performance, semi-automated stacker cranes |
| Above 20 m | Specific engineering: wind, seismic, dynamic loads | A premium segment with very little supply | Full automation, silos, advanced building management |
The relationship between height and cost is not linear. From 8 to 12 m the structural premium is moderate; steel portals handle those heights in standard sections. Above 14 m the wind calculation becomes critical, the foundations must absorb substantial horizontal forces, and the steel connections require specialist engineering. It is from 15 m that the construction ratio takes off.
The industrial floor: the most under-estimated item
The concrete slab of a logistics warehouse is not a simple screed. A standard logistics warehouse needs a reinforced slab 200 to 250 mm thick with a compressive strength of at least 30 MPa, a flatness tolerance suited to reach trucks, and a load capacity of 5 to 8 t/m² according to the racking.
For a high-bay warehouse with automated stacker cranes the slab can exceed 350 mm with special reinforcement, movement joints calculated to the centimetre and an ultra-strict superflat tolerance. That single item can represent 25 to 35 % of the total construction budget, against 10 % on a standard office building.
4. Cost distribution: ambient against cold store
The cost structure of a cold store is radically different from an ambient warehouse of the same area. The refrigeration plant, the reinforced insulation and the structural loads arising from the weight of that insulation redistribute the budget spectacularly.
| Item | Standard ambient | Cold store | What explains the difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundations and slab | 18 – 22 % | 22 – 28 % | Refrigeration loads plus anti-frost heated floor |
| Structure and roof | 28 – 33 % | 20 – 25 % | Smaller relative share; the total budget is higher |
| Insulation and cladding | 8 – 12 % | 18 – 25 % | 200 mm of insulation against 100 mm, cold-store sandwich panels |
| Refrigeration plant | 0 % | 20 – 30 % | Compressors, condensers, evaporators, controls |
| Docks and dock doors | 6 – 10 % | 8 – 12 % | Fast-acting insulated doors cost more |
| Integrated offices | 5 – 8 % | 4 – 7 % | Smaller relative share in a cold store |
| Electrics and lighting | 5 – 8 % | 8 – 12 % | Installed capacity three to five times higher for refrigeration |
| Internal external works and roads | 8 – 12 % | 6 – 10 % | Smaller relative share in a cold store |
| Sprinklers | 4 – 6 % | 3 – 5 % | System adapted to cold, with anti-freeze protection |
The table reveals the economic specificity of the cold store: the refrigeration plant alone represents 20 to 30 % of the total budget, an item with no equivalent in any other building type. For a frozen store the ratio can reach 35 %. That is why the economist works closely with the refrigeration engineer to price this package from the outline stage.
5. Logistics equipment: capital cost outside construction
The construction budget of a logistics warehouse covers only the shell and the fixed installations, sprinklers, electrics, docks. Mobile logistics equipment is a distinct capital cost, often greater than the construction cost on automated warehouses.
- Storage racking: 30 to 80 €/m² according to height and density, that is 600,000 to 1,600,000 € for a 20,000 m² warehouse.
- Stacker cranes and conveyors: 300 to 800 €/m² for partial automation, up to 1,500 €/m² for full automation.
- Warehouse management software: from 50,000 to 500,000 € according to complexity and integration with the enterprise system.
- Handling trucks: 10,000 to 80,000 € each according to type, counterbalance, reach, order pickers, automated guided vehicles.
A partially automated 20,000 m² warehouse can carry an equipment capital cost greater than its construction cost. An economist who prices only the shell produces an incomplete project budget.
6. What is particular about building logistics
The programme is key to the return
In logistics the delivery date is a direct economic issue: every week of delay is lost rent or a penalty under the development lease. Building a standard 20,000 m² logistics warehouse takes 8 to 14 months from planning consent, compressible through offsite construction of the prefabricated elements. The economist builds that calendar into the budget by allowing for the price revisions applicable over the period.
Environmental permitting
Any logistics warehouse storing combustible materials above certain thresholds falls under the French classified installations regime. It imposes separation distances, fire walls, containment and specific fire protection systems with high-sensitivity sprinklers. Processing the application takes 6 to 18 months, a period to anticipate in the overall programme.
Green roofs and photovoltaics
Since 2023 French law requires that new impermeable warehouse surfaces be partly offset by roof planting or photovoltaics. Installing photovoltaic panels on a 20,000 m² warehouse represents an investment of 600,000 to 1,200,000 €, but generates revenue from electricity sale or self-consumption that can represent 0.5 to 1 €/m²/year of additional income for the owner.
You have better things to do. Submit your logistics project on quostra.com; outline warehouse estimate with the technical items itemised within 72 working hours.
In summary
The cost of building a logistics warehouse runs from 360 €/m² for simple ambient storage to more than 1,430 €/m² for a frozen cold store. Eaves height is the most structuring parameter: above 14 m the structural premiums accelerate. The concrete slab is the most under-estimated item, up to 35 % of the budget on a high-bay warehouse. The cold store has a radically different cost structure from ambient: refrigeration plant represents 20 to 30 % of the total. Finally, the capital cost of logistics equipment, racking, stacker cranes, management software, is often greater than the construction cost on automated warehouses; construction budget and logistics project budget must not be confused.
Reference basis of the figures
These bands are orders of magnitude for framing, and their reference market is the Paris region. They serve to place a budget at the earliest stages and to compare building types with one another. They replace neither a tender exercise nor an estimate prepared on drawings, and they are not a record of prices actually charged.
The ratios per square metre and per item on this page are stated in January 2026 values. They were updated from January 2025 values, the basis adopted for the whole cocoon, using the BT01 all-trades index published monthly by INSEE on its 2010 base: 132.0 in January 2025, 134.7 in January 2026, a rise of about 2 %.
The global amounts quoted as examples, and any rents, charges or receipts expressed per year or per night, remain on their own basis: a building cost index does not apply to them.
To bring the ratios forward, apply the usual revision formula: updated value = page value × (BT01 for the month in question / 134.7). The index has kept rising since: it stood at 138,3 in June 2026, the last value published when this page was checked, that is 2,7 % above the reference base. BT01 measures contractors' input costs, wages and social charges, materials, plant and energy, not the prices actually tendered.
Sources: the BT construction cost indices published monthly by INSEE on its 2010 base, used to update the figures · construction cost statistics from SDES, the statistical service of the ministry responsible for construction · regulatory texts published in the Journal officiel and consolidated on Légifrance for the requirements cited.