Retail real estate investment picked up markedly in Europe in Q3 2012, following the subdued volumes experienced in the first half of the year, property agent Jones Lang LaSalle said.
Retail real estate investment picked up markedly in Europe in Q3 2012, following the subdued volumes experienced in the first half of the year, property agent Jones Lang LaSalle said.
Preliminary analysis suggests that direct investment in retail real estate for Q3 came to around EUR 6 bn, up from the Q2 2012 volume of EUR 3.9 bn. Year-to-date volumes are estimated at EUR 13 bn, in comparison with EUR 23.3 bn in the first three quarters of 2011, and the five year Q1-Q3 average of EUR 15.4 bn.
Geographically, as in the first half of the year, the majority of activity remains focused on the large, liquid markets of the UK, Germany and France which together transacted 75% of total volumes.
The UK enjoyed a particularly strong quarter, which included the purchase of Festival Place in Basingstoke by TIAA-CREF from Grosvenor Festival Place Fund for EUR 350 mln.
JLL expects full-year 2012 volume to come in at between EUR 18 bn and EUR 20 bn, broadly in line with the five-year average of EUR 21 bn.
