The Spanish property sector recorded a total of EUR 4.1 bn in transactions in 2006, of which EUR 2.3 bn was spent in the retail property segment. Spending in the retail segment which delivered 23 new shopping malls and five expansion schemes was EUR 300 mln higher than a provisional estimate for the year made in December, according to Spanish shopping centre agency AECC.
The Spanish property sector recorded a total of EUR 4.1 bn in transactions in 2006, of which EUR 2.3 bn was spent in the retail property segment. Spending in the retail segment which delivered 23 new shopping malls and five expansion schemes was EUR 300 mln higher than a provisional estimate for the year made in December, according to Spanish shopping centre agency AECC.
Some 869,475 m2 of retail have been added in the last 12 months in Spain. In total, the country's 463 shopping malls provide a total of 11.2 million m2.
Spain was the second largest market in Europe for investment volume in the retail sector and accounted for 10% of the total retail investment volume in 2006. The largest transactions include the sale of the Madrid's Xanadu mall by Ivanhoe Cambridge for EUR 350 mln, the Diagonal Mar centre in Barcelona by Deka for EUR 300 mln and the EUR 220 mln Barakaldo retail park near Bilbao by Resolution Property.
The Spanish agency estimated that the number of visits to shopping malls has increased by 8% year-on-year. The total turnover of the retail parks in the country reached EUR 36.6 bn, with 19.9% coming from leisure activities such as restaurants and cinemas. Shopping centres' manager at Cushman & Wakefield Cristina Perez de Zabalza said she expected the sector to keep growing in the coming three years as 27 projects are already scheduled for opening in 2007.
The northern region of Coruna and Zaragoza in southern Spain are likely to experience a major acceleration in the retail sector. In Zaragoza, the 195,000 m2 Puerto Venecia shopping mall is being developed by British Land and is scheduled for completion in 2008. This week construction started for the 62,000 m2 Dolce Vita Coruna mall where Grupo Chamartin Amorim plans to invest some EUR 162 mln.
The Spanish capital and the region of Andalucia account for 174 of the 463 shopping malls in the country, while the eastern region of La Rioja lags the retail sector with four retail parks. Spain seems to have a preference for small-size malls, with a surface ranging from 5,000 m2 to 19,999 m2. These account for close to 30% of the total retail areas, while large retail centres providing more than 80,000 m2 only account for 2.4%.
