As reported by CBRE, European retail investment reached near record levels with €17bn transacted in Q3, a 45% increase on Q3 2014 levels. The German retail market had a strong first half, overtaking the UK, becoming the biggest in Europe. Q3 2015 was the strongest quarter on record for Germany since 2006. Shopping centres remain the preferred sector for cross regional investors, with retail warehouses increasing in popularity; attracting 24% of cross regional retail investment in Europe.
Retail investment in the Nordic markets have also reached high levels so far this year, with investment in the first nine months of 2015 already more than double that of the whole of 2014. The UK slipped behind Germany despite a 12% increase to €4.3bn from Q2 to Q3, noting particularly high levels of retail warehouse investment with over €1.5bn changing hands.
John Welham, head of european retail investment, CBRE, commented: “After a strong performance throughout the year, Q3 2015 is the second strongest quarter on record, just behind Q4 2006. The German and Nordic markets have had an exceptional quarter. In Germany the growth was largely the result of an increase in activity by domestic purchasers. Local buyers invested €3.2 billion in the country, up 167% on the previous quarter. For the Nordics, attention was focussed on the high street offering in Oslo, the supermarket sector in Finland and domestic purchasers favouring retail warehouses and shopping centres in Sweden.”
One of the driving forces behind soaring retail investment is Europe’s strong economic growth, posting nine consecutive quarters of economic expansion. European investment reached €67bn in the first half of the year, up 33% from the same period the previous year.
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