Retail rents stable in Europe, investor interest more balanced

Colliers' latest report on the EMEA retail market reveals a stable consumer environment and diverse retailer performance in Europe during 2025. 

Retail - Colliers

Retail rents remained largely stable in Q4 2025, and investor interest in grocery, retail park, and high street properties is becoming more balanced for 2026.
Consumer confidence in the EU gradually recovered to late 2024 levels by mid-2025. European retail spending is projected to increase by 1.8% in real terms throughout 2026, with stronger growth anticipated in CEE and the Nordics.
The modest outlook for retail spending is prompting retailers to focus on prime flagship locations in major European cities. Store network optimisation, including rationalising secondary locations, remains a consistent trend across markets.
Retail rents were stable in most EMEA markets in Q4 2025, with some growth in mainstream high street areas like London, Istanbul, and Amsterdam, and traditional shopping centres in Lisbon and Barcelona. However, rental growth in luxury high street markets softened in line with retailer performance.
High street yields in EMEA remained relatively stable in 2025, with limited capital value growth. Shopping centre yields continued to widen, and capital values saw a slight decline, though they appear to be nearing a bottom. Increased pricing transparency and repricing are gradually attracting investors back to dominant regional schemes, albeit with selective activity.
Investor sentiment points to more positive expectations for retail values in 2026. Colliers' Global Investor Outlook (GIO) survey indicates a much more balanced preference across retail types compared to 2025, with high street locations, grocery/supermarket assets, and retail parks almost equally desired. Interest in prime high street locations has returned, with private capital, family offices, and owner-occupiers targeting flagship properties. Preference for shopping malls has also increased from last year, aligning with the nearing bottom of the shopping centre capital value correction.