Thursday, 1 October 2026
The Czech retail property market is entering a period of increased reinvestment as 69% of its modern shopping space is now more than 15 years old. The ageing profile is likely to direct more capital towards upgrading existing assets rather than adding large volumes of new development, according to Colliers’ ExCEEding Borders Retail 2026 study.
Across the six Central and Eastern European countries and Baltic markets examined by Colliers, modern retail stock totals approximately 33.3 million sqm. Around 20 million sqm has been operating for at least 15 years, creating a sizeable regional pool of properties where owners must increasingly consider refurbishment, technical improvements and changes to their commercial offer.
Prague’s stock is somewhat younger than the Czech national average, with 63% exceeding 15 years. Budapest has the oldest portfolio among the capitals compared, at 84%, followed by Riga at 76% and Warsaw at 70%. Prague and Bratislava occupy the middle of the group, ahead of Vilnius at 62%, Bucharest at 59% and Sofia at 39%.
The Czech regional market presents an even stronger case for reinvestment. Cities with populations below 100,000 contain almost 1.95 million sqm of retail space, while larger regional cities account for around 1.17 million sqm and Prague approximately 1.1 million sqm. Around three-quarters of the stock in medium-sized cities is more than 15 years old, with relatively little additional space delivered there during the past decade.
Existing Czech properties are already demonstrating several possible approaches. Prague’s Kotva department store is undergoing extensive redevelopment under Generali, with reopening planned for 2028. Máj has been repositioned towards entertainment, restaurants and leisure, while the former Spektrum shopping centre in Čestlice was demolished and replaced with a retail park after problems with the original structure.
The changes are not being driven by building age alone. Rising household incomes and demographic shifts are altering how retail properties are used, while online shopping continues to influence conventional retail categories. Owners are consequently adding restaurants, entertainment, fitness, wellness, healthcare and other services capable of generating visits independently of traditional shopping.
For landlords, this also means that decisions on older assets will increasingly depend on location, catchment area, technical condition and the strength of existing demand. Properties that continue to attract customers and occupiers can often be modernised progressively, while more extensive redevelopment is likely to remain concentrated on assets where the existing format no longer matches local demand.
With more than two-thirds of Czech modern retail space now beyond the 15-year mark, refurbishment and repositioning are set to become a larger part of the country’s retail investment market. Rather than signalling widespread obsolescence, the age of the stock is creating a new capital expenditure cycle in which the performance of established properties will increasingly depend on how effectively owners adapt them to changing consumer, tenant and sustainability requirements.
