According to Savills latest research, cross-border capital is playing a growing role in European retail park investment, supporting larger deals and portfolio acquisitions.
Overseas buyers accounted for 52% of investment volumes in the first nine months of 2026, compared with approx. 41% on average over the last five years.
James Burke, Director, Global Cross Border Investment at Savills, says: “The origins of capital are also changing. North America was the largest source of foreign investment, accounting for around half of cross-border volumes, while European investors contributed a smaller share than their long-term average. Middle Eastern and Israeli capital has become more prominent, representing around a fifth of overseas investment.”
Retail parks and warehouses remain a key focus for investors, supported by an attractive risk-return profile relative to other asset classes and notably strong total return performance recorded by MSCI (7.4% in 2025). The average prime yield edged down from 5.73% in Q2 2026 to 5.72% in Q3, driven by compression in Stockholm, while yields held steady in all other European markets that Savills monitors. Retail warehousing was the only commercial property sector to record inward movements quarter-on-quarter (-1 bps) and year-on-year (-5 bps).
Investment in the asset class accelerated in Q3 2026, reaching slightly more than €2bn, a 91% increase on the same period in 2025. Core European markets still attract substantial capital, but they no longer dominate the sector as they once did. Their combined share of retail warehouse investment declined from 80% in 2021 to 48% during the first nine months of 2026, says Savills. Over the same period, Central and Eastern Europe and Southern Europe increased their combined share from 14% to 46%.
Lydia Brissy, Director European Research at Savills, says: “The investment case for European retail warehouses is increasingly centred on the resilience of income from value and convenience retailers. Price-conscious shoppers drive demand for space from these retailers, while relatively affordable occupation costs, compared with other retail segments, help them expand. For investors, this strengthens the appeal of operational assets with established tenants and scope to improve their performance.”