Retail Property Insights

Watch: Why “Data is king” and why we need to “rewire our brains” about the future of retail

5th October 2023

The use of data and technology to underpin, not just large retailers, but smaller independent retailers’ strategies, is more important now than ever. Speaking to Completely Retail News executive editor Lisa Pilkington, at the recent Completely Retail Marketplace event, Lucy Stainton, commercial director at Local Data Company, said it was often the larger operators who were maybe more data-hungry. “We’ve seen such a shift in terms of the types of projects we’re working on with the types of brands – maybe they’re more in their infancy – but they’re coming at it off the bat really wanting to embed data into their strategy.” Stainton said that prior to the Pandemic, there was still “a lot of gut feeling involved” in terms of how retailer’s shaped their brand and what their store strategy looked like. Fellow panellist Olaide Oboh, executive director of Socius, agreed, declaring “Data is king!” Oboh explained: “Understanding your customers, and actually people who aren’t coming to you is so important. Hyper-local data is so powerful now and its determining where you spend your advertising, where you locate your stores, and where you focus your experiential experiences on.” Another trend Oboh noted was the shift towards greater awareness […]

Watch: “Stronger” ESG considerations will shape out-of-town retail

4th October 2023

“Stronger and stronger” ESG (environmental, social, and governance) considerations will shape the out-of-town retail market, said James Honeyman, partner at Quadrant Estates. Whilst the retail market has “dabbled” in electric vehicle (EV) charging and PV (solar cells), larger scale ESG requirements will become an increasing trend, he told Completely Retail News executive editor Lisa Pilkington. Speaking at the recent Completely Retail Marketplace event, Honeyman said that landlord-led scalable PV and the use of renewable energy on-site will be a feature of out-of-town destinations: “We’ve seen a lot of brown-to-green potential for stranded assets in the world of office. Clearly yet we haven’t seen a lot of environmental considerations to that scale in retail, but I believe that is certainly going to be a future trend.” Honeyman was joined by Paul Davis, founder of Nimbus Maps, who drew a comparison to the industrial market, in which he said the ESG agenda is “so hot”. He added: “In the retail space, the occupiers aren’t quite so big, but that ESG agenda is going to start biting further down. It’s very obvious in a supershed market of just how much that trend has hit, and that clearly is coming to retail.” The pair also discussed...

Watch: Next generation US department stores eye UK market

3rd October 2023

Next generation department stores are eyeing the UK retail market with a view to getting a foothold on the British high street. Speaking at the recent Completely Retail Marketplace event, P-THREE co-founder Hannah McNamara told Completely Retail News executive editor Lisa Pilkington, that international brands have formed the “bedrock of the UK retail industry.” International brands including Zara, Nike, and Sephora will continue to dominate the sector, however she added: “… At this point in the market, there’s probably fewer international retailers than at other points who have been looking [for space]. McNamara said: “There’s interesting American concepts that are the next version of a department store – so [brands such as] Neighborhood Goods, Showfields – that curate interesting types of retail. That would be really interesting [for them] to come over to the UK, in terms of the next generation of what a department store might be.” Asked how these next-gen department stores would look, McNamara said: “It would be a similar concession-type model in terms of a mix of different retail brands within a location, but that combined with a sense of community like other brands have created – like GymShark on Regent Street for example, where they […]

Watch: Leisure sector is “on the crest of a wave”

2nd October 2023

The leisure industry is currently on “the crest of a wave”, said Neil Hockin, managing director of Lunson Mitchenall. Speaking at September’s Completely Retail Marketplace event, he said that at the moment leisure feels “quite resilient”, but the proof is yet to be seen that these companies can survive when rent-free periods end: “So I think there’s sometime to go in that sector. And there will be a consolidation because there’s been a massive explosion and one, invariably, follows the other.” He was joined by Alice Keown, leasing director for hospitality and leisure at British Land, to discuss the rise of experiential retail and the incorporation of leisure activities in shopping spaces with Completely Retail News executive editor Lisa Pilkington. “There are sectors that seem to be more resilient, so QSR (quick-service restaurants) always does well in a recession or a downturn”, said Keown. She added: “All of the usual QSR’s like Maccie D’s (McDonald’s) and Burger King will be here to stay, but I’m loving the new generation coming through. We heard that Popeyes think they’ll get a tenfold growth over the next ten years, and given the sales they’re doing in [British Land’s] assets I believe that’s possible.” […]

Watch: High streets must kick “addiction to transactional retail”

29th September 2023

High streets must kick their "addiction to transactional retail", said Ibrahim Ibrahim, managing director of Portland Design, speaking with Lisa Pilkington, executive editor of Completely Retail News, at Completely Retail Marketplace on Tuesday (26th of September).

Five key opinions from Completely Retail Marketplace

28th September 2023

Over 1,600 delegates and almost 500 retailers came through the doors at the largest Completely Retail Marketplace event ever on Tuesday. Completely Retail News sat down with some expert figures in the retail and leisure property market to get their views and forecasts. Here are some of the key takeaways: The industry just needs “to get on and do it” We don’t need more high street reviews such as 2011’s Portas Review and 2013’s (and latterly updated in 2018) Grimsey Review, instead the industry should focus on action, said Ruth Moorhouse, director at Ellandi. “We’re in a position now where we just need to get on and do it as a retail environment”, she said. “We just need to… put our foot down and get on with making some of this change and start making some smaller steps and try and move our high streets forward”, Moorhouse added. Her sentiments were echoed by Ibrahim Ibrahim, managing director of Portland Design: “[It’s] time to stop reviews, time to stop talking, and let’s put some great initiatives forward and use those as best practice and share them, really understand what the data is, how it happened, and show some really good benchmarks...

Property developers look to padel to reinvigorate destinations and build communities

21st September 2023

Property crazes come and go, but padel, a new racket sport, looks set to stay, as developers, landlords and agents look to incorporate it at their sites, to help build communities and attract footfall. Touted as the world’s fastest growing sport, padel was invented in Mexico in the 1970s. Fast forward to now and over 25 million people around the world play the game regularly. In Argentina there are more padel players than footballers. In the Middle East the sport is on the national curriculum. In Europe, 15,000 new courts were registered in 2021. By 2032, it is expected to become an Olympic sport. Celebrity fans of the game include Andy Murray and Virgil van Dijk, who have both invested in British company, Game4Padel, as well as David Beckham, Pep Guardiola, Elle MacPherson and Nicole Scherzinger. What makes padel so appealing is its relatively simple rules, the ease with which it can be learned and mastered, and, the big draw, the fact it is highly social. Played in doubles pairs, on a small court, there is always lots of laughter, banter and friendly rivalry between players. It’s this that is convincing property developers and landlords to introduce it to their […]

LDC: Retail market resilient despite economic challenges

21st September 2023

Britain’s retail locations remained active during the first half of the year, despite ongoing challenges facing businesses and consumers, according to research from the Local Data Company (LDC). The new report, which covers the first half of 2023, found that 27,504 retail and leisure units closed during the period, a year-on-year increase of 11%. However, this was matched relatively closely by the amount of new openings, which reached 23,504. This is the second-highest amount recorded since the first half of 2014. LDC found that retail parks were the most resilient sector, and were the only location type to record more openings than closures during the first half of 2023, with a net increase of 0.6% units. Retail park vacancy also reached its lowest level since the first half of 2019 at 8.1%. Some of the quickest-growing retail categories of the first half of 2023, such as supermarkets and health and beauty brands, increased their presence at retail parks during the period. Meanwhile, the data found that high streets have continued to face problems, as less shoppers make use of service and comparison retail. High streets saw a decline of 0.7% in net units and only a 0.1% year-on-year decrease in […]

Hotels enjoy strong post-Pandemic growth

23rd August 2023

UK hotels have enjoyed strong growth in both revenue and occupancy rates since the Pandemic, research from Knight Frank has found. The real estate agency found that occupancy rates at London hotels reached 82% in June 2023, an increase of 3.2 percentage points (pp) against the previous year. However Knight Frank said that robust seasonal demand and persistent high inflation means many hotel operators are continuing to pursue rate maximisation in lieu of full occupancy recovery, with average daily rate (ADR) increasing 8.5% in June. Upper-midscale and upscale hotels in the capital outperformed the market, with occupancy during the first half of the year increasing by 21pp to 77%, while ADR increased by 15%. London’s select service hotels achieved their highest occupancy performance since before the Pandemic (June 2019) during the first half of 2023, at over 87%. Meanwhile, luxury hotels in the capital proved to be resilient against inflation, recording an increase of 10% ADR during the first half of the year compared to 2019. In regional hotels, occupancy rates increased to 81%, a 4pp uplift against June 2022, with the occupancy margin reducing to 2.8 basis points versus 2019. This, combined with strong ADR growth, led to a 13% […]

London tourists spending less despite increase in visitors

15th August 2023

Tourists in London are spending less money than before the Pandemic, despite a recovery in the number of overseas visitors. Data from the New West End Company revealed that flight bookings from the United States to London were up by 17% in the three months to June compared to the same period in 2019, however the total spent by Americans in the West End fell by 1%. Travel from the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries was also up in the same period, by 7%, however spending decreased by 17%. Conversely, the data also found that tourist spending in Continental Europe was significantly higher than pre-Pandemic levels, with US spending in France and Spain up by 183% and 174% respectively in the second quarter compared to 2019. Spending from GCC visitors was also higher, increasing by 118% in France and 112% in Italy. The New West End Company said that the discrepancy between visitor numbers and spending was a result of a lack of tax-free shopping.. The UK is currently the only country in Europe which does not offer tax-free shopping for international visitors after the scheme was scrapped following the finalisation of its exit from the EU in 2020. A...

Retail destinations embrace independents since Pandemic

The majority of shopping destinations have taken on more independent retail since the Pandemic, according to new findings. Research from CACI’s Centre Dynamics Platform analysed a range of shopping destinations including city centres, shopping malls, and regional towns. It found that 38% of regional malls, 31% of outlet centres, and 29% of suburban centres have increased their independent provision compared to 2019. City centres were also found to be a hotspot for independent retailers, with only one across the country – Belfast – having a smaller amount of independent retailers compared to before the Pandemic. CACI’s data also identified a number of regional trends, with 22% of London locations losing independent retailers, the highest national rate. However, London as a whole has seen an increase in independents of around 2%, equating to about 15 operators per destination. Although the capital has the highest number and proportion of independents, other regions have seen a greater amount of relative support for local brands since the Pandemic in the north. Northeastern, Northwestern, and Scottish destinations have grown their independent provision by 32%, 28%, and 26% respectively. Olivia Longmore, senior consultant in location analytics at CACI, said: “There is a clear indication that shopping […]

One in 18 hospitality venues called last orders in the past year

One out of every 18 hospitality venues closed its doors permanently over the past 12 months, according to a new report. The Hospitality Market Monitor from CGA by NIQ and AlixPartners found that 5,736 venues shut down between June 2022 and June 2023. The 5.4% fall in the number of venues means that Britain had 100,176 licensed premises by the end of June 2023. If this number falls below 100,000, this would be the first time it has dropped to five digits since the monitor began. Over the last year, hospitality businesses have been hit by a cocktail of increased costs, including energy, staffing, and resources. Meanwhile, consumer confidence has taken a knock thanks to high inflation and interest rates rises. However, many of the industry’s problems are long-term and were accelerated by the Pandemic. Since early 2020, the country has seen a decline in the net number of hospitality venues of 14,932. This represents a drop of 13% compared to the pre-COVID total. Smaller businesses have borne the brunt, with 76.5% of net closures since the Pandemic happening within independent businesses. In contrast, the managed sector has seen only 3.7% of venues shut in the same period. There is...