11.1 million sq m of new shopping centre space under construction across the EMEA region

theretailrealestate by Retailtrend.it – According to leading global real estate advisor CBRE, 11.1 million sq m of new shopping centre space is currently under construction across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Turkey, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Russia are the most active countries in terms of shopping centre development and accounted for more than 50% of total development under construction in 2017.

Turkey saw 300,000 sq m of new space completed in the first half of the 2017. The UAE follows closely behind with just under 2 million sq m of space currently under construction with Dubai accounting for more than three quarters of developments in the country. New schemes coming onto the market are trying to differentiate by providing amenities and experiences that are difficult to replicate online. One notable new scheme doing this is Meydan One Mall, which will include more than 100 food and beverage outlets, the world’s largest indoor ski slope and a luxury brand quarter.

Across Europe, the Eastern European countries are the most active shopping centre development markets, with Russia, Poland and Ukraine all showing strong development pipelines. Russia’s development pipeline currently stands at 1.9 million sq m and this is largely due to improving macroeconomics fundamentals coupled with strong forecasted retail sales which is starting to improve developer sentiment.

Katarína Brydone, Head of Retail at CBRE:

New developments in Europe are slowing as the market has already reached optimum saturation rates in terms of the purchasing power of the population. If we consider CZ, there is not enough room for new big development, except for in Prague. As a result, contemporary developers and owners of shopping centers are focused primarily on the possibility of expanding existing well-functioning shopping centers. However, due to the old stock and the limited new construction, redeveloping existing shopping centers has remained the leading trend.”

The UK has the largest shopping centre development pipeline in Western Europe with a total of 460,000 sq m of new space under construction and due be delivered over the next five years.