London, Paris top new JLL/Experian retail ranking

London and Paris top the new European Downtown Retail Centre Rankings launched by consultant Jones Lang LaSalle and research firm Experian which show the relationship between consumer spending in European cities and prime retail rents.

The new rankings are designed to equip investors, developers and retailers with crucial insights into the best downtown European location opportunities.

Experian analysed levels of retail expenditure for all the major European destinations alongside rental data from Jones Lang LaSalle. For each city, the rankings take into account cross-border spend, spend-per-head differences by country, the retail offer within each city centre and the effects of competing out-of-town centres.

London and Paris occupy the first and second positions in terms of consumer spend and have some of the highest prime rents. Italy, Germany and Spain all have two city centres each that make the top 10 of the European Rankings. Moscow is the only city in Central and Eastern Europe to break into the top 10.

Rome, in third place, edges Milan as the top Italian location, thanks largely to its importance as a tourist destination and the relative lack of competition to its downtown retail offer. In both cities rents for super-prime units can reach levels commonly found in London and Paris, although their general rental level is much lower.

In Germany, whilst overall spend is highest in Berlin, rental levels are much higher in Munich and Frankfurt. This reflects strong occupier demand and a high quality mix of retailers. For this reason, Munich is widely considered to be the top retail location in Germany.