Retail

The construction costs associated with retail projects are similar throughout Europe. The slow decline of the individual, free standing, small retail unit continues. The retail model is changing and out of town shopping centers, local shopping, specialized groupings, huge multifunctional centres and all-encompassing retail ‘experience’ centres are more popular. Northern Europe looks for a warm comfortable experience whereas Southern countries look for cool air conditioned spaces. Many shopping centres from previous decades are conspicuously dated, failing to offer the current required retail experience. Most of the new centres are about more than just the retail unit adding in food and entertaining with large convenient parking areas (parking construction costs are covered in a separate section). Most developments offer basic retail shell units to the tenants but chain retailer designed requirements are more common. The current sophistication of M&E and services increases the cost of those parts of construction in typical modern constructions. The investors in this sector are often international so a certain amount of repetition between countries is more common and experience from one country may be of assistance in others.