Colliers CRE’s research also shows that although the total amount of shopping centre floorspace planned for completion by 2012 has only seen a small change, with 43.7 million sq ft now expected against the 47.7 million sq ft which was forecast back in 2006, developers are allowing completion timelines to slip.

In 2006 15 million square foot was set for completion in 2008. Now Colliers CRE is forecasting that only 8 million sq ft will actually open. It also anticipates completed floor space will drop by three quarters in 2009 with only 2.50 million sq ft expected to be built.

Greg Styles, head of retail at Colliers CRE, said: “While centres are pre-letting, commitment by retailers is now often at a very late stage. This lack of occupational demand is causing some developers to let completion dates for new shopping centres slip as pre-letting thresholds are being achieved too late to hit target start dates.”

The Colliers report also highlights the slump in retail rents, with inflation-adjusted rents down 3.1 per cent year-on-=year, the biggest fall since the early 1990s. The report also predicts that high street rents will fall by a further 15 to 20 per cent in real terms over the next three years.

Dr Richard Doidge, director of research consultancy at Colliers CRE, said: “By stripping out inflationary rises to paint a clearer picture of how the retail market is actually fairing, we can see that performance in the sector has been very weak and in our view is likely to become worse.”

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