European retail real estate investment volume in the fourth quarter in 2012 reached €7.6bn (£6.4bn) - down 11% on the previous year.

According to Jones Lang LaSalle, retail real estate investment in Europe in Q4 2011 stood at €8.5bn.

Full-year retail investment volumes are estimated to have reached €19.4bn compared with €31.3bn in 2011, approaching the five-year average of €23.7bn.

The UK and Germany remained the largest markets in 2012 with 30% and 23% market share respectively.

In third place was Sweden with €1.5bn transacted, followed by Norway with €1.3bn.

The UK, Germany, Sweden, Norway and France, at €1.2bn, totalled 74% of the total volume transacted across the region in 2012.

Shopping centres were the dominant sector in Q4 with a total volume of €5.3bn.

Jones Lang LaSalle estimates that 2013 retail real estate volumes will be in line with 2012.

Adrian Peachey, head of retail capital markets UK at Jones Lang LaSalle, said: "The purchase this quarter of Meadowhall shopping centre, Sheffield, by NBIM and of Festival Place, Basingstoke, by TIAA CREF in Q3 underline the attractiveness that the UK retail market still holds for foreign investors despite the current economic headwinds.

"The UK is one of the main beneficiaries of the globalisation of the retail investment market, second only to the US in terms of all direct retail investment over the past three-and-a-half years, accounting for 14% of all global investment in that period, ahead of Germany's 10%."