A total of more than 17 million square metres (sq m) 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
produced by global real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield.
This compares with the existing record of 5.8 million sq m of gross
leaseable area (GLA) of new shopping centre space opened last year, up
nearly 13 per cent on 2005, which brings the total amount of shopping
centre space across Europe to 97 million sq m.
With 6.45 million sq m due to open this year and 10.56 million in 2008,
John Strachan, Cushman & Wakefield’s Global Head of Retail,
comments: “This year is on course to be another robust year, but 2008
is the year that really stands out – with a planned
10 million sq m 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
in Europe in 2007 and 2008. It will see a potential total of 1.93
million sq m of new schemes open this year and next. Cristina Pérez de
Zabalza, Head of Retail for Cushman & Wakefield in Spain, says:
“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.”
Most shopping centre development activity in Spain is in out-of- town
locations, however, an example of a key new scheme due to open in 2007
in a city-centre location is Espacio Buenavista in Oviedo, the capital
of Asturias. The scheme, developed by Multi Corporation, is due to open
in November 2007. It will offer a total 60,500 sq m, with 28,000 sq m
of retail, a 2,300 sq m hypermarket, 2,000 sq m of restaurants, 7,500
sq m of leisure and 20,700 sq m of common areas.
In second place comes Poland, where 1.88 million sq m of new shopping
centre space is due on the market this year and next. Piotr Kaszynski,
Cushman & Wakefield’s Head of Retail in Poland, says: “The leading
international and national retailers operating in Poland build their
expansion strategies on the demographic structure of the country.
Searching for good quality retail space in the 40 cities exceeding
100,000 inhabitants, the retailers create demand for new shopping
centre space. Their expectations are being fulfilled by developers.
Majority of the schemes is planned in these cities.”
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The key scheme opening in Poland in 2007 is Złote Tarasy developed by
ING Real Estate. The 225,000 sq m mixed-use scheme in central Warsaw
includes 63,500 sq m of retail, an eight-screen cinema, and 45,000 sq m
of offices. The shopping centre opened in February this year. All of
the retail space is leased, with tenants including Marks & Spencer,
Van Graaf, Zara, H&M, Hugo Boss, Mexx, New Yorker, Next,
Intersport, Albert, Saturn, Stradivarius, Bershka, Pull and Bear, Hard
Rock Café, as well as Polish retailers Royal Collection, Empik, Smyk,
Almi Decor and cinema operator Multikino.
Turkey is in third place in the ranking, with 1.65 million sq m of
shopping centre space due to open in 2007 and 2008. Nilufer Kula, head
of Retail of Cushman & Wakefield’s Alliance Partner in Turkey,
P&D Consultants, says: “Demand is high both from consumers and
retailers for modern shopping centre space in Turkey, given that the
country has only 37 sq m of shopping centre space per 1,000
inhabitants, compared with the European Union average of 176 sq m.”
For shopping centre space in the pipeline, the Cushman & Wakefield
report focuses just on new schemes. If extensions to existing schemes
are also included, then this would show much higher figures in the
cases of some of the more mature markets, in particular the UK,
followed by France and the Netherlands.
The UK has nearly 1.4 million sq m of new space due to come onto the
market in 2007 and 2008, but if extensions to existing schemes were
added, this figure would increase by nearly 500,000 sq m. Next year is
due to be the most active year for openings in the UK, including the
55,000 sq m extension to Highcross Quarter, Leicester, which will bring
the total gross leaseable area to 105,000 sq m, the major regeneration
project Liverpool One, with 130,000 sq m of new retail space, and
Westfield London (150,000 sq m).
Justin Taylor, Cushman & Wakefield’s Head of Shopping Centres in
the UK, says: “Most of the new space is in the form of retail-led
schemes designed to regenerate town and city centres. Extensions are
popular in more mature market such as the UK given the tight planning
laws for new, out-of-town schemes, and the popularity among local
authorities of regenerating town and city centres.”
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