#Mapic2014 European mall space to grow by 10 million m2 in 2 years - DTZ

Nearly 10 million m2 of shopping centre floor space is set to be added to the 123 million m2 of existing stock across Europe in the next two years with Turkey, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and France the most dynamic markets for development.

New research from DTZ shows that the three markets account for more than 60% of the 9.9 million m2 of shopping centre GLA in the development pipeline across 2015 and 2016, with Turkey alone accounting for around 35%. The current shopping centre stock of 123 million m2 is spread across around 4,800 European shopping centres.

Shopping centre provision continues to vary widely across the European market with high density in the Nordics and lowest supply in countries such as Romania, Hungary and Turkey, DTZ found.

Adrian Powell, head of EMEA retail at DTZ, said: ‘We’ve seen a welcome acceleration in shopping centre construction activity which reached its lowest level in 2011 when just 3.5 million m2 was added across Europe. Turkey alone will add that much stock over the next two years as developers seek to capitalise on its underdeveloped shopping centre market.’

DTZ has also identified several future European development hot spots. The list is topped by Ankara, followed by Istanbul and Bucharest but also includes the UK markets of London, Manchester and Edinburgh.

Magali Marton, head of EMEA research at DTZ, said: ‘Interestingly, our analysis shows that only 40% of the shopping centres pipeline will take place in Europe’s capitals and main cities with the majority of developments taking outside top tier cities. This trend contrasts sharply with most retailers’ traditional focus on prime location.’

She noted that developers and retailers should also keep an eye on the growing number of emerging markets in Benelux as well as cities in France and Germany that are less well established. ‘Shopping centre provision in these countries is below the European average and retail sales are just starting to recover. This will benefit existing schemes and also provide considerable opportunity for new development,’ she said.