More than 17 million m[sup]2[/sup] of new shopping centre space is due to open in Europe this year and next, according to the latest biannual edition of the European Shopping Centres Report by property advisor Cushman & Wakefield.
More than 17 million m2 of new shopping centre space is due to open in Europe this year and next, according to the latest biannual edition of the European Shopping Centres Report by property advisor Cushman & Wakefield.
This compares with the record of 5.8 million m2 of gross lettable area of new shopping centre space opened last year, which was up nearly 13% on 2005. There is now a total of 97 million m2 of shopping centre space across Europe. About 6.45 million m2 is due to open this year and another 10.56 million in 2008.
John Strachan, Cushman & Wakefield's Global Head of Retail, said: 'This year is on course to be another robust year, but 2008 is the year that really stands out - with a planned 10 million m2 of new schemes due to open. This is led by particularly strong development activity in Spain, Poland and Turkey.'
Spain tops the country ranking of new shopping centre space due to open over 2007-2008. A potential total of 1.93 million m2 of new schemes is scheduled to open during this period. 'The Spanish shopping centre boom is far from over. Opportunities still remain, not only in the main cities of Madrid and Barcelona, but also in provincial areas of the country,' said Cristina Pérez de Zabalza, Head of Retail for Cushman & Wakefield in Spain.
In second place comes Poland, where 1.88 million m2 of new shopping centre space is due on the market. Piotr Kaszynski, Cushman & Wakefield's Head of Retail in Poland, commented: 'The leading international and national retailers operating in Poland are targeting the 40 Polish cities that exceed 100,000 inhabitants. Their demand for good-quality space is in turn creating a demand for new shopping centre space in these cities.'
Turkey ranks third with 1.65 million m2 of shopping centre space due to open in 2007 and 2008. 'Demand is high both from consumers and retailers for modern shopping centre space in Turkey, given that the country has only 37,000 m2 of shopping centre space per 1,000 inhabitants, compared with the European Union average of 176,000 m2,' indicated Nilufer Kula, head of Retail of Cushman & Wakefield's Alliance Partner in Turkey, P&D Consultants.
Other countries featuring strong shopping centre pipelines include the UK (1,377,350 m2), Italy (1,293,460 m2), France (1,283,550 m2), Germany (1,143,780 m2), and Russia (1,067,590 m2).