Three quarters of retail landlords turn to repurposing
Suzanne Lovell
Up to three quarters of retail property landlords are either considering or undertaking redevelopments, with 18% already completing projects.
If the amount of retail space at an asset needs to be reduced – or if efforts at repositioning the retail offer does not work – 85% of landlords would consider residential as an alternative use.
This is followed by health and community (80%), according to the latest findings from Savills. The survey gathered responses from 30 companies with 1,000 schemes; these firms collectively comprised 30% high street, 22% shopping centre and 20% retail parks as well as department store, supermarket and leisure assets.
Last mile logistics are being considered as an alternative use by 30% of landlords, largely by retail park and shopping centre owners, given the growth in ecommerce and click-and-collect.
The research also found that 50-65% of landlords were considering improved workspace, student living and retirement living.
Landlords indicated that 43% of their retail assets have a degree of oversupply in retail space, but considered only 31% of their schemes to be relevant to the repurposing proposition.
Only 12.5% of companies believed that repurposing opportunities will be almost entirely constrained to London and the South East. A further 19% expected the majority of redevelopments to occur in London and regional cities. However, the remainder thought these would be more wide-ranging.
Nearly a quarter (23%) stated that they would undertake a redevelopment themselves, while 19% would seek local authority support and 17% would seek a development partner. However, 31% indicated they were more likely to sell the asset, with or without planning permission, rather than undertake the work themselves. Continue reading….
Source egi.co.uk
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash