International investors play the biggest role in investment in European retail parks. They enable larger transactions and the acquisition of entire portfolios. This was the finding of a study by the property consultancy Savills. According to the study, 52 per cent of the investment volume in the first nine months of 2026 was accounted for by overseas buyers. Over the past five years, the average figure was only around 41 per cent.
According to Karsten Nemecek, Deputy CEO at Savills in Germany, a shift in the origin of capital is also noteworthy: “Around half of the international volume came from investors in North America. They thus represented the largest source of foreign investment, whilst European investors accounted for a smaller share than the long-term average. Capital from the Middle East and Israel has also gained in significance and accounts for around a fifth of foreign investment.”
According to the Savills study, retail parks and warehouse space remain the focus for investors – underpinned by an attractive risk-return profile compared with other asset classes and a particularly strong total return (7.4 per cent in 2025), as confirmed by Morgan Stanley Capital International. The average prime yield fell slightly from 5.73 per cent in the second quarter of 2026 to 5.72 per cent in the third quarter, due to a decline in Stockholm, whilst yields remained stable in all other European markets monitored by Savills. The retail park sector was the only commercial property sector to record a decline, both quarter-on-quarter (-1 basis point) and year-on-year (-5 basis points).
Investment in this asset class rose to just over 2 billion euros in the third quarter of 2026. This represents an increase of 91 per cent compared with the same period in 2025. The core European markets continue to attract significant capital, but no longer dominate the sector to the same extent as before. According to Savills, their combined share of investment in specialist retail centres fell from 80 per cent in 2021 to 48 per cent in the first nine months of 2026. Over the same period, Central and Eastern Europe and Southern Europe increased their combined share from 14 per cent to 46 per cent.
Karsten Nemecek says: “The investment case for European specialist retail centres is increasingly centred on the stability of income from discounters and local convenience retailers. Price-conscious consumers are driving these retailers’ demand for retail space. And the relatively low operating costs compared with other retail segments are helping retailers to expand. For investors, this increases the appeal of operational properties with established tenants – and it offers potential for improved performance.”
