Retail investment in Italy, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands has increased in 2011 compared to last year as investors target prime stock, according to new research from adviser Savills.
Retail investment in Italy, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands has increased in 2011 compared to last year as investors target prime stock, according to new research from adviser Savills.
Savills said that in Italy over 58% of investment deals have taken place in the retail arena so far this year, with retail in Germany at a 52% share, Poland at 49% and the Netherlands at 35%.
The data is published in the property adviser's latest European report released on the first day of the MAPIC retail real estate fair in Cannes, France.
Savills said the figures represent a year-on-year rise of 70% in Italy and 50% in Germany. Despite this, the research indicates an overall decline in average retail investment from 34% of total volumes to 25% in Q311. However, Savills suggests this reflects a lack of prime opportunities rather than a loss of interest from investors as illustrated by average yield compression of -22 bps for shopping centres and -2 bps for retail parks across the survey this year.
Giles Wilcox, head of European cross-border investment said: 'There has been increasingly strong investor appetite for retail stock across Europe, especially in large core liquid markets. However, the year has been a tale of two halves with more opportunistic demand in the first half and a very much more cautious approach in the second as the eurozone crisis continues to influence decision-makers and finance providers.'
