According to Colliers’ latest report, the retail market in Spain closed 2025 with a total investment of €2.494 billion, consolidating its recovery with a 14.3% share of the total transaction volume in the real estate sector. In the fourth quarter alone, €760 million was mobilized, confirming that investor interest remained strong through year-end.
Retail has shown its ability to adapt in an environment shaped by changing consumer behavior, the rise of e-commerce, and the reconfiguration of commercial spaces. However, investment has not been distributed evenly: certain asset types and locations clearly concentrate capital.
Shopping center investment takes center stage
In 2025, shopping centers accounted for 59.5% of the total annual investment volume, reaffirming their position as the main focus of investor interest. The search for dominant, well-located assets backed by strong operators has been a constant among major investors.
The high street segment—units on prime retail streets—represented 21% of the total, while retail warehouses and medium-sized retail parks reached 14.1%. Retail parks, outlets, hypermarkets, and the supermarket segment (5.4%) remain attractive due to their stable rental income profiles and relatively resilient demand. The message is clear: capital is flowing toward established assets with strong occupancy and visible income streams.
Madrid leads and Valencia gains ground
By location, Madrid accounts for €1.037 billion, equivalent to 41.6% of the annual total. The capital remains the main market for retail investment, especially in high street and dominant assets. Meanwhile, Valencia has gained relative weight with €383 million (15.4%), while Barcelona recorded €173 million (6.9%), maintaining a more moderate profile compared with previous years. Other locations total €901 million (36.1%), reflecting growing geographic diversification beyond the traditional major capitals.
Prime rents and yields in high street
In the prime high street segment, Madrid records rents of around €260/m²/month with a yield of 3.6%, while Barcelona reaches €265/m²/month with a yield of 3.8%. In terms of prime returns, both cities are at levels comparable to other major European markets.
This positioning reinforces the attractiveness of Spanish prime retail in the international context, especially for institutional capital seeking stability in established locations.
Retail and CRE: key to real estate diversification
Retail’s performance in 2025 is part of a broader trend: growing interest in Commercial Real Estate (CRE) as a diversification route beyond traditional housing. At Urbanitae, we have long been committed to non-residential assets within our CRE strategy. Offices, hotels, student residences, retail parks, and alternative assets are all part of an approach that views real estate as something broader than classic residential property.
In the commercial space, projects such as medium-sized retail parks or assets pre-let to established operators allow investors to gain exposure to visible rental income streams and professional structures. Transactions such as Parque Comercial Arlanzón in Burgos or the Navia project in Vigo show how retail can offer structured income and robust guarantees within debt financing models. This approach aligns with a core idea in our strategy: enabling retail investors to access segments that were traditionally reserved for funds and large wealth holders.
There is no single type of retail
Retail is not a homogeneous segment. A dominant shopping center in a major capital is not the same as a secondary asset in an area with lower traction. Nor is a prime high street unit comparable to a property in a peripheral location. The investment seen in 2025 points to a very clear selection criteria: location quality, operator strength, and income visibility.
For investors, the question is not only whether retail is attractive, but how it fits within the broader mix of real estate assets—residential, managed living, hotels, offices, or alternatives— and what balance it provides in terms of risk and return. In an environment where sector diversification is key to managing real estate risk, retail is consolidating itself as one of the fundamental pillars. And within an integrated platform such as Urbanitae, it forms part of a broader ecosystem that allows investors to combine residential, tertiary assets, and alternative projects under the same structured and regulated framework. The evolution of 2026 will depend on the macroeconomic context and consumer trends, but 2025 data shows that, when the asset is strong, capital continues to find opportunities in Spanish retail.
