While the activity at property conference Mapic last week was much the same as last year – doing deals, networking and dashing around – there seemed to be a shift in retailers’ mindset.

Last year, UK retailers went to the show in Cannes to secure deals in the UK. They used the show to firm up the deals they had been talking about for a few months. And developers and property agents tracked down the retailers to get them to sign on the dotted line on deals they had agreed some months prior. Yet this year, most UK retailers talked of tough times at home and, while some still had expansion plans for the UK, they seemed more eager to search for opportunities overseas.

Stands displaying the wares of countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and continental Europe seemed to be packed with interested delegates. And the global property agencies such as CBRE, Cushman & Wakefield and Jones Lang LaSalle all had representatives from these countries running on overdrive.

It’s not that the UK doesn’t have its fair share of opportunities. There is a glut of space opening next year that is still only mid-way through the lettings process and, beyond 2008, there is no shortage of new developments. But international markets are showing good returns for retailers, and developers are bending over backwards to ensure they are offering the right product. In some Central and Eastern European markets, retailers are even fighting over the right spaces and outbidding each other for the prime spots at new shopping centres.

Developers in the UK are letting their schemes successfully, but the idea of retailers fighting over space is a pipe dream. The UK market is tough and developers are feeling the pinch as retailers curtail massive expansion plans and pursue other areas that provide better returns.

Retailers know the UK is a strong market and, in order to be global, the UK is vital. But, as the market gets tougher, their eyes are wandering overseas more and more.

Topics