2015 a record year for retail investment in Europe

By

Lucile Deprez

Published
Nov 19, 2015

A survey carried out by real estate specialist Cushman & Wakefield showed that European retail investment has significantly increased over the first nine months of the year. It can be safely announced that 2015 will be a record-breaker in this respect. By the third quarter 2015, investment amounted to €51.5 billion, equivalent to a 59% increase.

As for the countries to which the investment is attributed, Germany snatched the lead from the UK.  Between them, they claimed the largest investment share.

Cushman & Wakefield however highlighted the renewed interest by industry players in Scandinavia, Benelux, central, southern and eastern Europe too. Countries like Poland, Turkey and Ireland were also mentioned.

Within such major investment growth, shopping malls were the most sought-after type of asset. They accounted for an investment of €26.7 billion, more than half of the total retail investment volume.

Additionally, the number and total amount of retail portfolio acquisitions accounted for an activity volume of €14.4 billion from the start of the year. This is four times the annual volume recorded on average in the last ten years.

Finally, the Cushman & Wakefield survey showed that the investment volume over a 12-month rolling period has been growing in the last three years, and has now reached the record level of €67 billion in the third quarter 2015.

This means that the European retail investment market has doubled in volume in two years.