There are still opportunities to build up strong property portfolios in Europe, with a lack of supply of new space on the market helping to boost occupancy levels in existing commercial-use buildings, it has been claimed. Speaking to Property Week at the 2011 Expo Real conference, European president of Prologis Philip Dunne commented that within his company's portfolio, vacancy rates are presently low, largely due to the shortage of new properties.
He cited retailers, etailers and third party logistics companies as showing the greatest demand for new premises, although he stressed that this was more down to churn within these industries, rather than actual growth of the sector. Mr Dunne predicted that big firms - such as Tesco - will be the driving force behind the demand for new space as they look to optimise their business activities and become more efficient.
Meanwhile, a new report from Savills has suggested that office markets in Europe's prime central business districts have started on the road to recovery in terms of rental growth. According to the firm, London's West End, Stockholm and Berlin are likely to be among the top performing cities in the short to mid term.