Investment hotlist: Stockholm's five hottest retail property projects

A considerable amount of new retail development is taking place in Stockholm as a growing number of international brands plan to establish new shops in the Swedish capital.

Commercial real estate adviser CB Richard Ellis**' annual research report "How Active are Retailers in EMEA?" revealed that 17 percent of international retailers plan to expand in Sweden, up from 12 percent last year.

"The interest in Sweden is the biggest in a long time," the company's head of retail tenants, Bengt Axelsson, told The Swedish Wire, adding that it's getting increasingly difficult to find vacant retail space in the city.

Here he lists five hot retail property projects in Stockholm: 

• Gallerian - The first shopping centre to see the light of day in central Stockholm is currently partly under reconstruction.
• MOOD - An ambitious new retail project in the heart of the capital, which will host around 60 retail and leisure units.
• Spektern - An area opposite department store NK at Hamngatan undergoing a facelift and being turned into a modish shopping centre.
• Bibliotekstan - Stockholm's most high-end shopping district has been modernised and is attracting more and more top fashion brands.
• Norrmalmstorg - Real estate firm Humlegården is renovating a classic property at Norrmalmstorg that used to be called the MEA department store.

Nearly three quarters of international retailers are planning to open more than five stores in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region by the end of 2012, according to the report. Some 20 percent of retailers looking to open 40 stores or more in 2012 compared to 18 percent in 2011.

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** CB Richard Ellis, CBRE, is a world leading commercial real estate adviser.
 

This article was published in collaboration between Stockholm Business Region and The Swedish Wire.