The verdict in three sentences
A shopping centre with 140 retailers generates hundreds of emails every month: turnover returns, maintenance requests, fit-out approvals, event schedules. A custom tenant portal costs EUR 25,000 to 60,000 (about GBP 21,000 to 51,000) and cuts email volume between centre management and retailers by roughly 50%. The key budget driver is integration with the property management software, which determines the reliability of turnover data and turnover rents.
The modules of a tenant portal
The portal serves two audiences: store managers, who want speed, and the centre management and asset management teams, who want clean data for turnover rents and investor reporting.
| Module | Function | Indicative 2026 cost (EUR, excl. VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| Retailer accounts and permissions | Access by store, area manager, retailer head office | 4,000 to 8,000 |
| Monthly turnover return | Entry or import, consistency checks, reminders, annual certificates | 6,000 to 14,000 |
| Maintenance requests | Ticket with photo, tracking by the facilities contractor, SLAs | 5,000 to 12,000 |
| Lease and regulatory documents | Lease, amendments, centre rules, surveys, insurance certificates | 3,000 to 7,000 |
| Works and permits | Tenant fit-out files, hot work permits, delivery access | 3,000 to 9,000 |
| Marketing communication | Events calendar, campaign sign-up, communication kit | 3,000 to 8,000 |
| Property management integration | Sync of leases, units, turnover and invoicing | 4,000 to 12,000 |
A first release (accounts, turnover, maintenance, documents) sits around EUR 25,000 to 35,000. The full portal with works, marketing and advanced integration reaches EUR 50,000 to 60,000. Usual timeline: 3 to 5 months.
Integration with property management software
Large landlords and managing agents use property management software that sometimes offers a native extranet. It works but is generic. The choice depends on the integration depth you need.
| Scenario | Cost | Benefits | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Native extranet of the management software | Licence or option, EUR 3,000 to 10,000 per year | Up-to-date data without development | Dated UX, little marketing, no works module |
| Custom portal, file-based exchange | EUR 25,000 to 40,000 | Fast to deliver, vendor-independent | Daily sync, manual checks |
| Custom portal, API integration | EUR 40,000 to 60,000 | Real-time turnover and leases, automated turnover rents | Depends on the vendor's API |
| Multi-centre portal for a landlord | EUR 60,000 to 120,000 | One platform for the whole portfolio | More complex governance and permissions |
For a single centre, a custom portal with daily file exchange is often enough in year one. API integration is justified when turnover rent applies to more than a third of leases.
Getting 140 retailers to adopt the portal
Adoption relies on three simple levers. Make the turnover return mandatory through the portal from a set date. Send an activation link per store, with no complicated password. Show the status of maintenance requests in the portal, which ends follow-up phone calls. Centres that follow this method typically reach 85 to 95% active retailers within 3 months.
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Isabelle, general manager of a 140-retailer shopping centre, estimates that her 4-person team handles 1,900 tenant emails per month, at about 4 minutes each, i.e. 127 hours per month. With the portal, volume falls by 50%, saving 63 hours per month and 756 hours per year. At a loaded hourly cost of EUR 50, that is EUR 37,800 per year, plus about EUR 15,000 of turnover rent better collected thanks to automatic reminders. For a portal at EUR 42,000 and EUR 7,000 of annual maintenance, payback comes in about 11 months.
FAQ
How much does a shopping centre tenant portal cost?
Between EUR 25,000 and 60,000 for one centre, depending on modules and property management integration. Maintenance runs EUR 6,000 to 10,000 per year.
How long does it take to launch?
Budget 3 to 5 months, including 3 weeks of scoping with property management. A pilot with 15 retailers over one reporting month is recommended.
Will national retailers accept yet another portal?
Yes if turnover can be imported by file, which head offices managing 50 to 300 stores require. Independent stores enter their figures in under 2 minutes.
Can the portal handle turnover rents?
It collects and checks turnover, then passes it to the management software that calculates turnover rent. API integration automates this flow with no re-keying.
Is the data GDPR compliant?
The portal mostly handles company data, but also named contacts. Local hosting, an access log and a defined retention period cover the essentials under UK GDPR or EU GDPR.
Let's scope your project. Tell us the number of retailers, your property management software and priority modules: we will price a portal between EUR 25,000 and 60,000 delivered in 3 to 5 months. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
