UK shopping centre investment activity hit £418m in Q1 2026, 61% above the five-year Q1 average of £260m, according to new research from Savills.
Activity in Q1 2026 was significantly up on the same period last year when just £19m of deals transacted. Six deals completed in Q1 2026 and £361m of activity was driven by just two transactions, with Savills noting that this points to a maturing recovery phase for the market.
Equivalent yields were unchanged for the third consecutive quarter in Q1 2026, holding at 7.25% for super‑prime, 9% for prime and 10.5% for town centre dominant assets. Shopping centres currently under offer are averaging net initial yields of around 9.5% and capital values of £62m, while assets currently in the market are quoting tighter average yields of around 8.3%, reinforcing investor appetite for quality and scale.
National shopping centre vacancy edged up modestly to 16.9% in Q1 2026, from 16.3% in Q4 2025, while headline rents softened slightly over the quarter. Footfall remained resilient, with average weekly shopping centre footfall 0.9% higher year‑on‑year.
Savills forecasts there will be more than £2bn of shopping centre investment activity in 2026, with approximately a third of the UK’s top 30 shopping centres expected to transact or be brought to market over the next two years.
Mark Garmon‑Jones, retail investment director at Savills, said: “The first quarter has shown that capital is still willing and able to deploy into shopping centres, but it is doing so with a high degree of selectivity. In a volatile macro environment, investors are prioritising resilient income, clear asset management strategies and confidence around execution. The fact that meaningful volumes have been completed at scale, despite the backdrop, confirms that confidence has returned where fundamentals are right.”
Sam Arrowsmith, director of commercial research at Savills, added: “Current market signals are consistent with a post‑trough phase. Equivalent yields have now remained stable for three consecutive quarters, while transaction evidence shows selective yield compression and a continued increase in average lot sizes. At the same time, investment volumes are being constrained by reduced stock availability and heightened execution risk rather than misaligned pricing or weakened demand. Taken together, these indicators point to a recovery that is being driven by structural factors – including debt availability, income security and asset quality.”
