Investment activity in the retail property sector in Europe has been concentrated on Germany, Poland, Russia and countries in the Nordic region, the latest report from CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) shows. The organisation noted that a wide range of investors have been drawn to the retail real estate market, with 20.1 billion euros (17.7 billion GBP) being ploughed into the industry in the first half of this year.
Along with retail specialists, the company pointed out that those with broader portfolios - and especially investors from the Middle East and Asia - are turning to the sector. Economic growth has fuelled demand for assets in Germany, with the country accounting for 31 per cent of the retail investment market in the first six months of the year.
Poland was named as the third most active market after the UK and Germany during this period, with 1.2 billion euros transacted in the country. Earlier this month, Savills revealed that commercial real estate investment in the central European nation had risen in the first half of the year, compared to the level of activity experienced in 2010. The firm went on to predict that it will exceed the two billion euro mark by the end of 2011.