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AECC: Sales At Spain’s Shopping Centres Rose By 3.6% In 2016

3 March 2017 – Mis Locales

The health of the Shopping Centre and Retail Park sector in Spain is still good. In 2016, sales rose by 3.6% compared to 2015, to reach €42,464 million. The market share held by Shopping Centres and Retail Parks over the Spanish retail sector as a whole remained stable at 17.8% and average sales per visit grew by 2.1% with respect to 2015.

It is estimated that 1,935 million visits were made to Shopping Centres and Retail Parks during 2016, up by 1.5% with respect to the previous year, according to data from the Spanish Association of Shopping Centres and Retail Parks (AECC).

Investment through transactions in Shopping Centres and Retail Parks amounted to €2,000 million in 2016, with 19 operations closed, involving domestic and international investors.

The importance of this sector within the country’s overall economy is also clear, thanks to the employment being generated. Six new shopping centres were opened in 2016, with the resulting creation of 4,500 new jobs.

There are currently 550 Shopping Centres and Retail Parks in Spain, with a combined GLA (Gross Leasable Area) of 15,595,800 m2, which are home to almost 33,500 shopkeepers. Between 2017 and 2019, 27 new projects are expected to be launched, including new centre openings and extensions, to create more than 1,300,000 m2 of new retail space.

For Javier Hortelano de la Lastra, the President of the Spanish Association of Shopping Centres and Retail Parks, the sector is the key to the consolidation of the Spanish economy “given that during 2016, it continued to grow not only in terms of sales but also in terms of visitor numbers and the creation of employment”. Hortelano also emphasised the high profile role that shopping centres and retail parks play in the real estate context of the country.

Original story: Mis Locales

Translation: Carmel Drake