Here's what local news sources are reporting about retail property in Europe:
• UK retail landlord Capital & Regional says profits are on the rise despite concerns about Brexit's impact on retailer expansion and consumer spending. The firm said rents at its seven retail properties remain at pre-referendum levels. Footfall grew by 0.2 per cent in August, the firm reported. This Is Money
• Arch Northumberland bought the 350,000-square-foot Manor Walks Shopping Centre in Cramlington, UK, from Hammerson, for €90 million. Anchors include Sainsbury’s, Asda, Wilkinson and Vue Cinema. Property Magazine International
• Helsinki's Iso OMena centre will expand by 100,000 square metres by next year, making it one of the country's largest retail properties. Superdry, BikBok, Brothers, Gina Tricot, Carlings, Björn Borg, Peak Performance and Efva Attling are all opening stores, while existing anchor H&M will add another 3,000 square metres of space to its store. The centre is owned by Citycon Oyj. EPR Retail
• Footfall is up at British high street shops, but the percentage of overall vacancies is at its highest point since April 2015, according to the British Retail Consortium. About 10 per cent of UK high-street stores are currently vacant. "The increase in the number of empty shops is an unwelcome reminder of the heavy burden of property costs," said the group's CEO Helen Dickinson. "After a long run of shop vacancies being below 10 percent, seeing them rise over that threshold once again will be a bitter disappointment to many." Daily Mail
• British womenswear chain Lavitta will open its tenth store in August, on Broad Street, King’s Lynn, UK. The retailer opened its first stores in March at Freshney Place Centre, in Grimsby, and St Johns Centre, in Leeds. Drapers
• Hebburn Shopping Centre, in Station Road, UK, will be refurbished and renamed The Mountbatten Shopping Centre after a group of investors bought the property for €2.4 million. Tenants include Herons Frozen Foods, Boots and Subway. Shields Gazette
• Cordatus Property Trust purchased the 43,451-square-metre Park View Shopping Centre, in Whitley Bay, UK, from Bow Street Mall, for €7.5 million. Tenants include Sainsbury’s, Iceland, Boots, Home Bargains, Costa and Superdrug. “We are actively seeking to invest in new opportunities where we can see scope to add value and use our asset management expertise to drive returns," said Andrew Murray, asset manager at Cordatus. News Guardian
• Toy retailer The Entertainer wants to open five stores in Northern Ireland. The company opened its first Irish store this week at CastleCourt, in Belfast. The 35-year-old chain operates 128 UK stores. The Irish News
• Budapest Airport has remodeled 6,000 square metres of retail space to accommodate new upscale brands such as Desigual, Hugo Boss, Furla and Oakley. Gebr Heinemann operates the retail portion of the airport. DNA Infoline
• Swedish fast-fashion chain Hennes & Mauritz posted a 10 per cent increase in sales for July, marking the retailer's 10th consecutive month whose growth was slower than the previous year's growth. Analysts expect the retailer's sales to accelerate in the second half of 2016 and match up better against last year's numbers. Reuters
• Thanks to price wars between discounters and established UK supermarkets, the country's food retail sales have fallen below £100 billion (€115 billion) for the first time in six years. Collective food retail revenues dropped by 3 per cent to £99 billion (€114 billion) between April and June 2016, according to The Share Centre’s Profit Watch UK study, while total revenue of the country's top 350 companies fell by 2 per cent to £341.7 billion (€395 billion.) Fruit Net
• Joanna Lea is the new retail director for Grosvenor’s London estate. She will be responsible for retail strategy and leasing across Grosvenor’s 300 acre estate in Mayfair and Belgravia, comprising 10 retail streets and nearly 400 units. Lea previously worked for Oxford Properties and The Crown Estate. Property Magazine International