KYIV. Feb 8 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The weighted average vacancy rate of operating shopping and entertainment centers in Kyiv at the end of 2023 was 14.2%, improving the figure by 2.3 percentage points compared to the previous year, the UTG company reported.

"If we discard closed stores, then today the vacancy rate in Kyiv is on average 14%, which is already higher than the normal figure. And if we take into account closed tenants, then this is approximately 19.7%. That is, a fifth of all retail space is actually closed. In the near future we predict big problems with filling large regional format facilities, where the actual vacancy is more than 27%," Kostiantyn Oliynyk, head of the strategic consulting department at UTG, said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Thursday.

According to the expert, difficulties in filling retail space are associated with a shortage of large "anchor" tenants, uncertainty in the work of entertainment operators, and a limited range of active retailers, which slows down their scaling.

In terms of formats, higher actual vacancy rates are demonstrated by shopping centers of regional and district formats – 27.2% and 18.8%, respectively. In specialized shopping centers the figure averages 10.6%, in district centers – 7.4%. At the same time, in some facilities the vacancy rate reaches 60%, UTG notes.

"Today we are seeing increased vacancy, significantly higher than the market average. So far there are no tools to deal with this vacancy. There is a possibility that new European, American and Japanese brands will arrive in Ukraine after the end of hostilities, but after the end of the war it will take another year to conduct negotiations with these brands. We can say that in the next two years we do not expect high supply on the market," Oliynyk explained.

In addition, at the current level of income and spending of the population, taking into account the launch of declared projects, which will increase the surplus of retail space, the vacancy level may reach 17% by the end of 2024, UTG predicts.

The UTG company was founded in 2001. It developed more than 1,300 real estate concepts. Over the years, with the participation of the company, 4.7 million square meters of commercial space have been leased in Ukraine.