New research from Henderson Global Investors tracks projected growth of retail warehouse space over the next five years in various European countries and compares that with the expected growth in retail spending over that same period. By putting expected big-box retail completions in the context of the expected additional spending to match it, the research is more illuminating than looking at retail space per capita, as the levels of retail spending per capita vary widely between countries.
The top four countries by this measure — the United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Poland and Germany — all appear attractive on a forward-looking basis, but for different reasons. The United Kingdom performed well because of very high projected growth in retail spending as opposed to low projected construction levels. Germany, on the other hand, had low projected growth of retail spending, but this was matched