Europe's retail property investment nearly halves in 2012: JLL

European retail real estate investment plunged 40% to €19.4 bn in 2012 from €31.3 bn in 2011, according to broker Jones Lang LaSalle.

However, direct investment in retail real estate rallied in the fourth quarter, reaching €7.6 bn versus €8.5 bn in Q4 2011. For 2013, JLL expects that year-end volumes will be more or less in line with 2012.

Geographically, the UK and Germany remained the largest markets in 2012 with 30% and 23% market share respectively. In third place, Sweden turned in a very strong finish to the year with €1.5 bn transacted as did Norway, reaching €1.3 bn. Including France at €1.2 bn these five major markets totalled 74% of the total volumes transacted across the region in 2012.

Shopping centres were the dominant sector in Q4 with a total volume of €5.3 bn, a significant proportion of which was the €943 mln purchase of a 50% stake in Meadowhall, Sheffield by NBIM from London & Stamford.

'The UK is one of the main beneficiaries of the globalisation of the retail investment market, second only to the US in terms of all direct retail investment over the past three and a half years,' said Adrian Peachey, head of Retail Capital Markets UK at JLL. The UK market has accounted for 14% of all global investment since 2010, ahead of Germany's 10%, he added.