European shop investment hits fresh low
WORSENING political and economic turmoil in the Eurozone has knocked investment in Europe’s shopping centres and stores to its lowest level since 1997, new research shows.
European retail property investment fell to €3.69bn in the first quarter of 2012, down from €12.6bn in the same period in 2011 and €9.3bn in the previous quarter, according to property consultancy CBRE.
It was the lowest since the six-month period after Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy in September 2008, and was the sector’s worst quarter in eight years barring the period of Lehman’s collapse, CBRE said.
Michael Haddock, senior director of EMEA research, said the market was hit by a lack of attractive stock, as owners of properties sat on them amid the economic uncertainty.
“There’s nothing available of the quality that people want to buy…the thing that would help retail investment activity recover would be a renewed interest in poorer quality retail assets, which would be predicated on an economic recovery.”