MAPIC: Warsaw ripe for new retail development - JLL

Continued tenant and developer interest, low vacancy rates and one of the lowest shopping density ratios among Polish agglomerations point to development potential in the Warsaw retail market, according to Jones Lang LaSalle.

The firm's Warsaw City Report Q3 2013 shows that the districts of Wilanów, Bia³o³êka, Tarchomin, Ursynów and Bielany have partricular potential for shopping centre development.

The retail market in the Warsaw agglomeration is also driven by Poland's highest purchasing power in Poland - €9,294 per person per annum. This exceeds the national average by approximately 60%.

The research spans the office, retail, industrial, hotel and residential market and is supplemented with analyses of the investment market and infrastructure.

Anna Wysocka, head of retail agency, Jones Lang LaSalle, commented: 'The dynamic development of new residential clusters, coupled with a great improvement of Warsaw's road infrastructure, has helped to create new retail locations. This in turn has generated demand for further retail developments such as Galeria Wilanów and Galeria Bia³o³êka by GTC, which are aimed at enriching a retail offer in a district and improving the inhabitants' quality of life.'

Warsaw's retail market attractiveness is also evident from the continued interest of tenants. According to JLL's Retail Destination Europe report, Warsaw ranks higher than Stockholm, Lyon or Copenhagen in terms of attractiveness for international retailers. High-street locations aimed not only at tourists are becoming increasingly important and convenience centres are also gaining traction.

At the end of October 2013, the modern retail stock in the Warsaw agglomeration reached 1.61 million m2 of GLA. Shopping centre formats total 1.1 million m2 GLA across 36 assets. With a density of 445 m2 / 1,000 inhabitants, Warsaw still ranks low among major agglomerations.

The most notable event in Q3, JLL said, was the opening of Plac Unii City Shopping (15,500 m2), the first downtown mall since the launch of Zlote Tarasy in 2007. Liebrecht & Wood Group carried out the Plac Unii City Shopping project as the majority investor (60%) in cooperation with BBI Development.

Click on the link below for the full Warsaw City Report Q3 2013 report.

In addition, here's a link to all the news from Mapic 2013