Europe’s retailers are under pressure on a number of fronts, and this is also putting the owners of the retail properties that they occupy under pressure. The increasing consumer predilection to the convenience of online shopping has seen structural shifts in shopping habits and patterns; at the same time, retailers have been faced with a fierce competitive environment in a period of reduced consumer spending that has required reductions in the size of their store networks.

The effects of this unappealing retail environment can also be seen in retail real estate investment activity. According to Real Capital Analytics, the retail sector was the least successful commercial real estate sector across Europe in the first nine months of 2017, as growth in online retailing reduced the attraction of shopping centres that are not prime destinations.

The €34.7 billion of retail properties acquired in the first nine months of 2017 represented a 15 percent fall against the sa