Over €1 billion volume in food retail investments, specialist stores maintain market leadership in the German retail investment market
The investment volume in German specialist stores amounted to around €1.2 billion in the first half of 2026. Although the exceptionally strong previous year’s result was unmatched by 40%, the retail park division still maintains its position as the most important asset class within the German retail investment market with a market share of 51%. Of the €1.2 billion mentioned, just over €1 billion was attributable to food retail investments. This is the result of the new Grocery Investment Report by BNP Paribas Real Estate.
“Even though the exceptionally strong result of the previous year was not achieved, the retail park division maintained its leading position in the German retail investment market with a market share of 51%. It is particularly pleasing that food-anchored investments are almost at the previous year’s level at around € 1 billion, and are thus once again shaping market activity,” explains Christoph Scharf, Managing Director of BNP Paribas Real Estate GmbH and Head of Retail Services.
While the previous year’s result was still largely influenced by large-volume portfolio transactions, individual deals are currently dominating market activity in the retail park segment again. They account for around €660 million or 57% of the investment volume. Compared to the same period last year, this corresponds to an increase of almost 83%. The highest transaction dynamics within the retail park segment are recorded by supermarkets and discounters with an investment volume of around €550 million.
Food-anchored investments remain in focus
Of the total transaction volume of €1.2 billion in the retail park division, just over €1 billion was attributable to food-anchored retail investments in the first half of the year. Their share of the total retail market volume rose to 87%, returning to the high level typical of the market. The largest transaction in the first half of the year was the nationwide Powerfoods portfolio brokered by BNP Paribas Real Estate. Portfolio deals then accounted for around 45% of the investment volume in the middle of the year. Smaller transactions of up to €15 million were also particularly strong, achieving one of the best results of the past ten years with a volume of just under €300 million.
Core+ remains the preferred risk class
Investors’ focus continues to be on Core+ investments. Around €530 million or 52% of the retail investment volume was placed in this risk class. While the volume of core investments remained stable at €234 million, the value-add segment increased significantly. At just under
€260 million, the highest result since 2019 was registered here.
For the first time in several years, there were also slight adjustments in the purchase price factors. However, only in the Core+ segment. Here, the purchase price factors fell by 0.5 points each for supermarkets and discounters as well as for retail parks. In the prime and value-add segments, however, the factors remained stable.
High stability of food sites
A recent analysis by BNP Paribas Real Estate based on more than 26,000 branches and 16 retail formats shows the exceptionally high level of location loyalty in the food retail sector. The average closure rate is only 1.4% per year. Mathematically, this means that even after ten years, 86% of the locations are still on the market. Discounters are particularly loyal to their location, with a portfolio of 89% after ten years. The results illustrate why food-anchored properties are among the most sought-after investment products, even in a challenging market environment.
Prospects
“The grocery investment market is starting the second half of the year with high transaction momentum. Large-volume portfolios and significant individual deals with a total volume of almost €1 billion are currently ensuring a well-filled pipeline. At the same time, there is much to suggest a lively end to the year, so that a total volume of well over €2 billion seems possible for 2026,” says Christoph Scharf, summarizing the outlook.
