Hungary tops Spain, Italy for retail warehouse supply - C & W

Hungary has overtaken Spain, Portugal and Italy on a per capita retail warehouse basis, Cushman & Wakefield has said in a new report. The property advisor also found France is the European country with the most retail warehouse floor space, but only 5% of this supply is accounted for by integrated retail parks rather than single units or clusters.

The report 'European Retail Warehousing 2008' draws on the findings from 15 European markets, taking into consideration factors including existing supply, rents, rental growth and yields.

Based on its research, Cushman & Wakefield said the European retail warehousing market has begun its 'long-awaited transformation' from being dominated by single units and clusters to the emergence of a more sophisticated retail park format offering better accommodation for occupiers and consumers, as well as a more viable asset class for investors.

Viktoria Szabo, partner and head of retail in Hungary for Cushman & Wakefield commented: 'In Hungary there has been a move away from traditional retail developments where large hypermarkets open and are followed in an adhoc fashion by DIY, furniture and sports retailers. The tenant base is growing slowly and there has been increased interest from developers in building integrated retail parks, both in Budapest and in more secondary cities such as Debrecen, Miskolc, Gyor and Szeged'.