Leasing

IPH Gruppe leased a total of 47,000 square meters of retail space through new leases and renewals in the first half of 2026.

Leasing ´Rocketman´or how a ´rubber duck´ may help to lease retail real estate. Klaus Striebich explains leasing strategies in his ACROSS ACADEMY Masterclass on 24 September 2026.

Over the course of the year, the company concluded 272 new and renewal lease agreements covering a total area of approximately 166,000 sqm. The result reflects sustained leasing activity in a challenging market environment and underscores MEC’s operational capabilities in both asset management and repositioning projects.

Third.i Group, the British division of Australian developer Third.i, has announced that Sainsbury’s will join its flagship Graphite Square regeneration scheme, as the site’s first commercial tenant. Sainsbury’s – one of the UK’s largest and oldest retail brands – has agreed a prime ground floor unit with excellent street frontage with direct access from the public realm on a substantial lease term.

Meadowhall has announced the openings of MINISO and TK Maxx, as the destination concludes a strong year of leasing activity and retail performance. These additions follow several major openings in 2025, including Sephora, Superdrug, and Wingstop, which achieved its most successful launch of any location in the country.

Starting from January 1, 2026, HBB Centermanagement GmbH & Co. KG will take over both the center and leasing management for LOOP5 in Weiterstadt, Germany. The center management company has already been supporting the shopping center’s leasing activities since early September this year.

Long-term leases and predictable returns are no longer the bedrock of retail real estate. In a post-pandemic world shaped by volatile consumer habits, economic uncertainty, and omnichannel disruption, landlords face a new reality: Tenants demand agility, landlords need security, and the lease itself has become a delicate balancing act. David Fuller-Watts, CEO of Kinexio, explains: From short-term pop-ups to turnover-based rents, the rules are being rewritten, and technology may be the key to turning risk into resilience.

While Central and Eastern Europe are experiencing rapid economic growth, the energy transition is still in its infancy. NEPI Rockcastle, the region’s retail real estate leader, is taking unprecedented steps to meet nearly half of its electricity needs via solar power by 2026. With a €110 million investment program stretching from Romania to Poland, the company is not only supporting the sustainability of its tenants but is also reshaping the CEE energy landscape itself. In a sector in which climate targets often lag behind, NEPI Rockcastle is proving that green retail is not only possible but also profitable.

The lease agreements concluded for retail parks increasingly feature solutions that differ from the classic Triple Net Lease agreements, particularly as regards the settlement of operating costs and the division of responsibilities between the parties. The latest trends in this area are reshaping the relationship between the parties, balancing the interests of investors and tenants while responding to increasing market expectations. In this article, we share our observations from the CMS team’s practice and point out the implications of these changes for the retail sector participants.

In addition to its function as a supplier to the population, retail is increasingly taking on the role of entertainment. Concepts built around customer experience and gastronomy are now essential components of shopping centers, shows the latest shopping center report on Germany from the EHI Retail Institute.

FACTORY outlet centers across Poland, operated by NEINVER, are gaining momentum with new store openings and significant expansions from long-standing retail partners. The latest updates to the brand portfolio, totaling nearly 2,200 sq m of added retail space, underscore outlet retail’s growing appeal and NEINVER’s commitment to supporting brand growth.

The shopping malls managed by SES Spar European Shopping Centers (SES) once again exceeded the excellent performance of the previous year in 2024: The retailers, restaurants and service providers in the SES malls generated gross sales revenue of 3.54 billion euros in 2024. This corresponds to an increase of 6.5% compared to 2023, meaning that the SES centers in Austria and Slovenia outperformed the market as a whole.

Union Investment announced another leasing success in Essen, Germany: Sports specialist Intersport Voswinkel has secured around 2,000 sq m on the second floor of the Limbecker Platz shopping center for ten years.

Evolve Estates, part of commercial property and investment collective M Core, has acquired Beaumont Leys, a successful community shopping center in a high-growth suburb in Leicester. The 10-acre site is the dominant local retail offer within the area, serving a significant residential population of 670,000 people. The acquisition is a joint venture with M Core.