Continental retail investment down

Retail property investment in continental Europe in the first quarter of the year was down by more than £444 million compared with the last quarter of 2008, research from Jones Lang LaSalle has said...

A total £869 million was spent on continental European retail property, a 37 per cent decline on the £1.3 billion spent in the final quarter of last year.

In comparison the UK totalled £1.2 billion of retail investment in the first quarter of the year, though nearly half of that was the sale of a 50 per cent stake in the Meadowhall shopping Centre to London & Stamford.

Jeremy Eddy, Director of European retail capital markets at Jones Lang Lasalle said, ‘Investors continue with their "wait and see" strategies in continental Europe, with most markets seeing some fall in prices in the first quarter.

‘At the same time, the high cost and lack of access to finance continues to restrict market liquidity, particularly for larger transactions. There is demand for prime product in the best locations and low vacancy rates in many top schemes provide the secure long-term income that investors seek.'

Italy and Germany were the most active markets in the quarter, accounting for 31 per cent and 28 per cent respectively of the total investment.

Jones Lang Lasalle also said that 89 per cent of the money spent was in Western Europe as investors focus on their home markets.

Source: www.propertyweek.com