SME Strategies and Industrial Real Estate Responses

The leading representatives of the domestic real estate market 2025 gathered for the second time on May 15 at the exclusive HAD Real Estate Business Brunch, organized by the Belgian-Hungarian owned RaktárAD, in the framework of the Industry Days exhibition, where the group won the award for the most beautiful stand this year. The event focused on the inflationary challenges facing the domestic SME sector, investment opportunities, site selection and growth financing schemes, which together determine the development path of businesses.

The prestigious professional event was opened by Ernő Hadnagy, President of the HAD Group, who announced in his speech that RaktárAD will implement a targeted expansion strategy in response to the growth needs of businesses and the most sought-after locations in the region, launching new industrial projects in Nagytarcsa and Bag, in addition to the existing developments in Alsónémedi and Vecsés. Furthermore, it will strategically open up to the northern and western agglomerations of Budapest, in particular Dunakeszi and Budaörs, offering modern and competitive warehousing solutions.

Over the past ten years, the Hungarian economy has suffered inflation of nearly 80%, well above the EU average of 30-35%. This has particularly affected small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), where significant productivity gaps have emerged. The performance of one-person micro-enterprises stagnated in real terms, while the productivity of firms with 2-9 employees exceeded inflation by 60-70% and that of medium-sized enterprises by 40%.

Although the number of enterprises has grown by 50% in 10 years, the expansion is mainly attributable to one-person and so-called "0-person" project firms. The number of small and medium-sized enterprises remained essentially unchanged.

The SME sector accounts for 65% of employment, but in an inflationary environment, most of their resources are being eaten up by wage costs, leaving little for development. Those firms that have strengthened their operations through conscious investment have become more competitive, more capital-intensive players and are more active in, for example, the industrial real estate market.