Russia has edged ahead of the UK as Europe’s second-largest shopping centre market, according to new research from property adviser Cushman & Wakefield.
Russia has edged ahead of the UK as Europe’s second-largest shopping centre market, according to new research from property adviser Cushman & Wakefield.
Russia recorded 17.5 million m2 of shopping centre space in the first six months of 2014, compared with 16.98 million m2 for the UK. France remains Europe’s largest market with 17.6 million m2 of space.
Economic growth and urbanisation have been the main drivers of development this year, as developers see potential in densely populated regions with a lack of high-quality schemes, Cushman & Wakefield said.
Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) will account for 81% of shopping centre space added to the market by the end of 2014, fuelled by strong development activity in Russia and Turkey in particular. Together the two countries accounted for 1.1 million m2 of added space in H1.
Total shopping centre floor space in Europe is estimated to rise to 161.4 million m2 by the end of 2014, a 4.5% increase. CEE reached 1.4 million m2 in H1 2014, more than double the 637,000 m2 added to the western European market.
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