New research confirms that refurbishment will be the name of the game for UK shopping centres for the foreseeable future. The Corporate Intelligence Group has created an 18-country database of centres with a minimum gross leasable area of 5,000m2 and at least 10 shops. Its research suggests that shopping-centre development peaked during the late 1980s in Britain and in the 1970s in France.
Growth areas for new schemes are Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece, while the more mature markets will concentrate on refurbishment and expansion with 90 large shopping centres due to be upgraded in the next three years.
There are now between 2,000 and 2,500 centres of more than 50,000 sq ft trading in western Europe. The UK tops the league with 595 — 31 over 500,000 sq ft — while the French total is 569, with 26 over 500,000 sq ft. During the late 1980s more than 250 centres were refurbished, mainly in Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden. (More information can be obtained from the CIG on 071-696 9006.)
