By Joanna Fisher
Retail Real Estate has once again proven to be a stable and resilient asset class in 2024 – and has gained further momentum in terms of leasing successes, investments and pro-jects for the further development and transformation of properties. At ECE Marketplaces, for example, we were once again able to build on our strong leasing result from 2023 this year, successfully driving forward important developments such as the Food Garden in the Main-Taunus-Zentrum in Sulzbach near Frankfurt am Main and the extensive modernization of Skyline Plaza in Frankfurt am Main in close partnership with the owners.
We want to continue these positive developments in 2025 and take advantage of the many opportunities in the retail real estate sector. For example, we can use the structural changes in the retail sector to shape the process of transformation and adapt it to the needs of the specific locations. In Germany in particular, there is an increasing trend towards mixed-use concepts and the integration of complementary uses that expand the retail offer to include services, non-retail concepts, leisure or residential. For this, it would be important for politics to work towards saccelerating the approval processes so that new stores can open more quickly.
Another increasingly important topic is ESG, which also concerns me in my role as Chairwoman of the ECSP. Stricter regulations on energy efficiency and CO₂ reduction, for example, require investments in environmentally friendly technologies and building management. But the “S” from ESG will also become an even greater focus in the future. And it is important that all parties pull together – owners, tenants and operators.
Joanna Fisher
Joanna Fisher is CEO of ECE Marketplaces, and Member of the ACROSS Advisory Board.
