Download Retail News Issue 10: Razor sharp insights into the state of UK retail
Issue 10 of Retail News: The price of change delves into the UK sector examining everything from affordability and counter cyclical investments to changes to service charges and business rates reforms.
1 minute to read
Retail property has to change. It has already, but needs to do so at an accelerating rate. In this report, we highlight six key property pinchpoints – lease terms, incentives, service charges, turnover rents, valuations and business rates.
In very generic terms, the two key watchwords are flexibility and affordability. The latter concept extending far beyond the recognised, one-dimensional metric of rents.
I’m delighted that we have been able to substantiate our own views with those of key industry figures, representing both landlords and retail tenants – Darren Richards of British Land and Frances Baker of River Island. Both offer a very telling, ‘first hand’ market insight on wider change within the retail market.
It would be wrong to view this change as a negative. Retail most definitely does have a future, people will continue to use physical stores in all of our lifetimes. Believe it or not, a high street 20 years from now might not even look radically different from its current incarnation, albeit with a reduced overall retail footprint, a greater sense of purpose and a lot more love.
Change, of course, comes at a price, both financial and figurative and this is the central theme of this Newsletter. However necessary, change can also be painful and difficult to navigate.
We hope you find this report of interest. As ever, please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of further assistance in helping you manage change.