We understand and have experience across a range of specialist retail property sectors.
High street retail
Our network of retail property specialists across the UK has in-depth insight into local markets and the latest retail trends in the UK.
We can help you lease or sell surplus retail space, mitigating shortfalls due to empty rates, service charge or loss of income. We will help you attract the best tenants for your retail property on the most competitive market terms.
Shopping centres
With increased vacancy rates and scaled back retail expansion programmes, it’s never been more important to have a forward-thinking business plan for your shopping centre assets. Empty rates and service charge shortfalls have a major detrimental effect on capital values.
Our close relationship with the occupier market enables us to identify tenant demand and provide detailed advice on the lettability of your retail space. We also provide regular health checks on tenants so that shopping centre owners can take early action to prevent damaging vacancies and can secure new tenants while retail units are still income producing.
We understand that a ‘one size fits all’ approach simply doesn’t work. We’ll look at your needs, your shopping centre’s position within the regional retail hierarchy and, most importantly, the consumers and their demographic profile to maximise asset performance.
Leisure and catering
We are active in the leisure and catering market – where restaurateurs typically take lease lengths of between 15 and 25 years, offer strong covenants and invest large capital sums on their fit out - all of which are important to property investors. The sector’s potential for rental growth makes it an increasingly attractive area for investment. We have concluded lettings to major restaurateurs including Wagamama, Zizzi, Prezzo, Las Iguanas, Carluccio’s, Nando’s, Frankie and Benny’s, Chimichanga, Jimmy Spice and Le Bistrot Pierre, as well as to a number of aspirational restaurants including River Cottage and Daylesford Organic. We are also involved across the wider leisure market.
Out-of-town retail
The development pipeline for open A1 retail parks has slowed. However, existing parks with the potential to extend or remodel are in demand from both retailers and investors.
Bulky goods retail parks typically have a DIY anchor with a cross section of furnishings and electrical retailers. These have experienced difficult trading conditions so there is an oversupply of space and limited end occupiers.
Planning consent flexibility is the key to the letting of solus retail units. If consent is unrestricted, these units are attractive to the value or discount retail sector. While these occupiers do not pay top rents they do offer a strong covenant and, in most cases, a ten-year plus lease.
The major operators in the foodstore sector have become more discerning when considering site acquisitions so only the very best out-of-town sites will obtain premium prices.
Road side and convenience retail
The trend for consumer convenience, coupled with the UK`s comparatively restrictive planning regime, has led to an aggressive expansion of the convenience store market.
Supermarkets are typically seeking locations that can accommodate a sub 5,000 sq ft convenience store with dedicated car parking. Target locations are major arterial roads, transport hubs and locations not dominated by a competing mainline food store.
There are also established roadside concepts in the automotive, bike, off licence, kitchen, bathrooms and tiles sectors, as well as in the food and beverage sector.