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A cold store is a machine as much as a building. We find chilled and frozen space from 500 m², test the installation before you commit, and negotiate the terms that decide your running costs: maintenance, energy and who pays when the cooling fails.
Only need pallet places? For small or seasonal volumes, a cold-storage provider that rents pallet spaces by the week is usually the better fit. Our cold storage guide compares pallet storage with leasing your own cold store.
A cold store that looks right on paper can still cost you a fortune in energy, repairs or a forced plant replacement. Before you sign a lease or make an offer, these are the points I check:
- The refrigerant. Older plants often run on R404A, which the EU F-gas Regulation (2024/573) is phasing out: newly made gas of that kind may no longer be used for servicing, and recycled gas only until 2030. If the plant has to be replaced during your lease, the landlord should carry it, in writing.
- Ammonia or CO₂. Natural refrigerants avoid the F-gas problem, but ammonia falls under the PGS 13 safety guideline, which shapes permits and maintenance. I check that the permits cover your capacity and your use.
- The floor. A freezer floor needs working underfloor heating, or the ground beneath it freezes and lifts the slab. I ask for its condition and maintenance history.
- Panels and sprinklers. The insulated panels decide energy use and fire risk, and frozen areas need sprinklers that cannot freeze. Your insurer has to accept both.
- Power. Refrigeration runs around the clock. I check the contracted grid connection against your peak load, and the backup. At the end of 2025 more than 15,000 requests were waiting for a large-consumer connection at the regional grid operators, so extra capacity later is never a given.
- Docks and the ante-room. Temperature is lost at the dock. Look for insulated doors, dock shelters and a chilled ante-room in front of frozen chambers.
- Who owns the plant. Landlord or tenant: who maintains and replaces it, how energy is metered and recharged, who carries lost stock, and what removing it costs when you leave.
Cold stores are scarce, mostly run by specialist operators, and new ones are usually built for a named user on a long lease. Expect ten years or more on a purpose-built store, and start 12 to 24 months ahead for anything large.
For a first 500 to 2,000 m², a chilled or frozen section in an existing building is often the fastest route. Chilling an ambient hall can work; converting one to frozen means new panels, a heated floor, new plant and more power, and rarely pays.
Owning makes sense when you will run the installation yourself for a decade or more. When you buy, the building and the cooling plant are valued separately: an ageing refrigeration system or a weak grid connection comes straight off the price.
On an existing commercial building the buyer pays 10.4% transfer tax in 2026. See how we help you buy a warehouse, and what to test in due diligence.
Intake
Your operation as a brief: temperature zones, pallet positions, docks, power, timing and budget, from 500 m².
Market search
The whole market, including cold stores that are never advertised and space operators are about to release.
Shortlist & viewings
Only the buildings worth your time, viewed with you, or on your behalf with photo and video if you’re abroad.
Suitability advice
Plant, refrigerant, floor, panels, permits, grid connection and the total cost including energy.
Negotiation
Rent or price, term, maintenance of the plant, energy recharging and liability when the cooling fails, on your side only.
Documentation & handover
Through signing or the notary to the keys, with the plant and temperatures recorded at handover.
Cold storage space in the Netherlands
Can I rent cold storage space from 500 m²?
Yes. We search for chilled and frozen warehouse space to lease or buy from 500 m², from a single cold room in a larger building to a complete cold store. Below that, or for a few pallets, a cold-storage provider renting pallet places by the week is the better fit.
How much does it cost to rent a cold store in the Netherlands?
There is no public benchmark for Dutch cold-store rents, because the market is small and most deals are private. A cold store costs roughly two to three times as much to build as a conventional warehouse, so expect a rent well above ambient warehouse rents of about €55 to €125 per m² per year (see rents by region). Energy comes on top and is a major running cost.
Should I rent pallet places or lease my own cold store?
Pay per pallet while volumes are small, seasonal or unproven: indicatively €4 to €8 per pallet per week plus handling. Lease your own cold store once you run a steady, year-round operation with your own staff, processes or certification. Our cold storage guide compares both.
Can you help me buy a cold store?
Yes. We search for cold stores for sale on and off the market, value the building and the cooling plant separately, and negotiate the price and the conditions. See how we help you buy a warehouse.
What is the difference between chilled and frozen storage?
Chilled storage runs between 0 and +8 °C, frozen storage usually between −18 and −25 °C, and deep-frozen storage below −25 °C. A chilled store cannot become a freezer by turning down the thermostat: freezer rooms need thicker insulation, a heated floor and a different refrigeration plant.
Who pays when the cooling fails?
That is decided in the lease, so it has to be negotiated before you sign: who maintains and replaces the refrigeration plant, how fast they must respond to a failure, and who carries the stock that is lost. We put those terms on the table in every cold-store negotiation.
What does your service cost?
For a lease: no lease, no fee. You only pay if you sign for a space we found or negotiated for you, and part of the fee depends on what we negotiate off the landlord’s first offer. For a purchase we agree the fee with you in writing before we start.
Costs, pallet rates and the checks in more depth, and how Dutch leases and purchases work.
- Renting cold and frozen warehouse space: costs, locations and what to check
- Warehouse rent prices in the Netherlands, by region (2026)
- The ROZ lease explained, clause by clause
- Warehouse due diligence before you buy
- Lease warehouse space in the Netherlands, from 500 m²
- Buy a warehouse in the Netherlands, from 500 m²
