The impact of the credit crunch will be more limited on the shopping centre industry compared to other real estate asset classes, according to Guillaume Poitrinal, CEO of Unibail-Rodamco. 鈥楢 number of factors will mitigate the impact of the credit crunch, such as the visibility of the cash flow in the shopping centre business, the historically low levels of debt in the industry and, not least, the fact that the buildup of a shopping centre portfolios has a strategic premium. The shopping centre industry is the only one where one plus one equals more than two. That makes this a unique industry.'
The impact of the credit crunch will be more limited on the shopping centre industry compared to other real estate asset classes, according to Guillaume Poitrinal, CEO of Unibail-Rodamco. 鈥楢 number of factors will mitigate the impact of the credit crunch, such as the visibility of the cash flow in the shopping centre business, the historically low levels of debt in the industry and, not least, the fact that the buildup of a shopping centre portfolios has a strategic premium. The shopping centre industry is the only one where one plus one equals more than two. That makes this a unique industry.'
Poitrinal, who was speaking at the ICSC Europe conference in Amsterdam, pointed out that Unibail-Rodamco is seeking to refocus its portfolio on large shopping malls in a limited number of countries. The property giant currently owns about 90 malls across Europe and has a shopping centre pipeline of 1.4 million m2. 'It is not only about international expansion. It is about the rationale behind expansion. We try to reach critical mass in the market where we are active, to have more weight in our discussions with retailers', Poitrinal said. About three quarters of Unibail-Rodamco's shopping centres are located in cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants, he added.
