Retail real estate, the return of retail parks
Italia's commercial real estate closed 2025 with EUR 3.6 billion invested in the retail segment, a level that marks a 55% increase over the previous year and is the highest in the last decade according to Savills. The out-of-town component, consisting of retail parks, factory outlets, and integrated retail parks along motorway routes, is gaining increasing appeal among investors and the general public; it attracted EUR 2.7 billion, or about 75 per cent of the total volume of the Commercial Real Estate asset class.
The remaining 1.1 billion went to metropolitan shopping centres and high streets. Suburban assets top the list of user preferences because they combine the possibility of having a wide choice in shopping and at the same time taking a "trip out of town".
The year 2025 marked an improvement for the retail asset class, which regained its supremacy as the leading sector in commercial real estate investments in Italia, surpassing the more traditional office sector with a share of about 25% of national real estate transaction activity. The most recent development is bringing fast food formats, medical clinics, fitness centres and co-working spaces into retail parks, alongside department stores and category killers in electronics and DIY. Diversification lengthens the time visitors spend there and increases the frequency of return, turning the retail park into a daily reference point for the basin served. The data of the EY-CNCC Observatory photograph the scale of the sector: 1,274 shopping centres in Italia, about 40,700 points of sale, 1.9 billion visits per year. The total turnover of the supply chain is 171 billion euro. The year 2025 ended with sales and attendance in line with 2024 and almost half of the operators expect moderate growth in 2026.
In comparison to the traditional shopping centre, the retail park is characterised by an open-air configuration and simplified operational management. This structure makes it possible to significantly reduce operating costs (condominium charges) and offers a flexibility of space that allows sales areas to be adapted to changing logistical and operational requirements. In the post-pandemic, the format has held up better than the others: open spaces and front parking have moved consumers out-of-town.
Two criteria guide the most visible operations today. The first is direct access to a motorway axis. The second is pre-letting: the early marketing of space before opening is the thermometer by which the market measures the soundness of a project. In this scenario of selective restarting of retail real estate in Italia, the Valmontone operation is one of the most representative tests of the season.
Valmo Retail Park, 80% pre-let along the A1
The project is located in the south-east quadrant of Rome, in an area that already has a consolidated commercial identity thanks to the Valmontone outlet and amusement park, capable of attracting millions of visitors a year and transforming the area into a recognised destination beyond the regional borders. The primary basin counts between 40 and 60 thousand residents, while the enlarged area reaches 150-180 thousand inhabitants. The direct access from the A1 motorway, the backbone between Rome and the Mezzogiorno, integrates the local basin with a nationwide vehicular flow.
Valmo Retail Park envisages 16,900 square metres of GLA (gross leasable area), on an area of 87,000 square metres, divided into 14 units for retail, medium-sized food and non-food outlets, catering and proximity services. The opening is scheduled for the first half of 2028, following an urban and functional readjustment process tackled by the new owner. The project has an agreement with the Municipality of Valmontone and will soon have a Building Permit.
The most relevant aspect for the market is the pre-marketing rate: to date 80% of the total GLA is covered, a threshold that places the asset above the segment average. The new property is owned by Valmontone Retail S.p.A., a subsidiary of MFG Capital, an investment management company specialised in structured finance transactions with real estate as underlying. The exclusive marketing is entrusted to Masema Europa Srl, a structure specialised in retail real estate. The mix chosen by Masema, integrates large organised distribution, medium specialised surfaces and personal services, in line with the evolution of the format towards the everyday life of the residents of the basin.
The operation is located along an axis, the south-east of Rome, which continues to gain demographic and infrastructural weight. For the sector's operators, it is one of the most attractive national retail perimeters for the next investment cycles.
