"We expect to see nearly £6.5 billion of shopping centre investments traded this year"
Nick Hart, Savills Shopping Centre Investment
Consumer confidence is currently very high, which indicates a strong close to the year for retailers in the UK.
■ The current near-record level of consumer confidence is pointing to a strong close to the year for UK retailing.
■ Locational requirements have continued to broaden, with retailer demand becoming less focused on London and the South East than it was a year ago.
■ The major real-estate challenge for expanding retailers will increasingly become the lack of suitable sized units.
■ Investor demand for shopping centres continues to be strong, and we expect to see further yield hardening over the remainder of the year for the very best product.
■ The high street shop investment market has been restrained by a lack of product. However, we expect to see more stock coming to the market in the second half of the year. We also expect to see yield hardening both for prime and secondary assets.
