The Leading News & Information Service For The Facilities, Workplace & Built Environment Community

Down Town - LAs Spend Big On Commercial & The High St

Local Authorities have spent big on commercial property assets
26 April 2018 | Updated 27 April 2018
 

Local Authorities have spent £3.8 billion on commercial property assets in the last five years according to Carter Jonas, the national property consultancy, and Revo, the national membership organisation for retail property and placemaking.

The two companies' research spans the inclusive years 2013-2017.

Spelthorne Borough Council in Surrey, which contains the towns of Ashford, Shepperton, Staines and Sunbury, was the biggest local authority investor committing £477.1m to assets within its domain. This is more than double its nearest rival Warrington Borough Council (£219.5m) and is largely down to the purchase of BP’s International Centre for Business & Technology in Sunbury for £360m.

 

Office space

Of the £3.8bn invested in commercial property assets, nearly half was spent on the acquisition of office space. Retail accounted for nearly £1.2bn of spend with shopping centres (£600m) and retail warehouses (£400m) the most popular assets. The remaining investment was split between industrial (£500m), mixed-use (£100m) and leisure (£80m) with a small amount diverted to other alternatives.

 

Down town

The findings are part of a new research report, which surveyed members of the public and private sector including local authorities, investors, developers and other key stakeholders to identify the challenges and issues facing the UK’s town centres. This is the first phase of a comprehensive study that will be released in Autumn 2018.

Competition from online shopping was identified by 28.4% of respondents as the biggest challenge for the UK’s high street over the next five years. Business rates (13.6%) and reduced demand for space from retailers (13.6%) were also singled out.

53.1% of respondents highlighted improvements to and investment in the public realm as the most important initiatives to deliver town centre regeneration. Nearly half of respondents agreed that strengthening local and national town centre first policies and reducing business rates were also critical.

 

Masterplan

Dr Steve Norris, Head of Regeneration, Retail and Town Centre Consultancy, Carter Jonas, said: “The scale of local authority investment in commercial property assets can in part be attributed to the availability of affordable credit but is fundamentally born out of a deep desire to protect and improve the UK’s struggling town centres. However, the acquisition of these assets is only the first step and they need to form part of a broader masterplan or regeneration vision to ensure the investment potential is fully realised and deliver long term social benefits.

“The challenges facing the UK’s town centres and high streets are well documented. We have embarked on this comprehensive study with Revo to identify a series of workable solutions that can be put into practice to halt the decline. Our research reveals that over 66% of respondents still see joint ventures partnerships as the preferred funding models for regeneration projects, so we hope to ignite fresh dialogue between the public and private sector to unlock new opportunities.”

Ed Cooke, Chief Executive at Revo, said: “Owning commercial property not only generates long-term income for the local authority, it enables them to play a more active role in reshaping their urban environment to ensure they remain the heart of communities.

“Since 2012 we have been involved in the Government’s Future High Street Forum, which has identified fragmented ownership and a lack of co-ordination amongst stakeholders as a major obstacle to reinvention.

"The future success of the UK’s urban environments relies on better collaboration between the public and private sectors.”

Over the last 18 months, Carter Jonas has invested over £100m on behalf of Local Authorities in commercial property and developed strategies to help them achieve their long-term goals for income return or regeneration.

Picture: Local Authorities have spent big on commercial property assets such as offices and on the High St to try to revive town centre fortunes.

 

 

Article written by Cathryn Ellis | Published 26 April 2018

Share



Related Articles

BAM FM Wins Hard FM Contract With Made.com

BAM FM has been awarded a three-year hard facilities management contract with online home and lifestyle retailer Made.com. The contract will encompass both mechanical...

 Read Full Article
Great British Spring Clean & National High Street Perfect Day

Councils across England will receive a share of £9.75 million to back their efforts to spruce up high streets - and every local authority in England is guaranteed...

 Read Full Article
Is Retail Property Heading Down The Rabbit Hole?

How the disappearance of well-known retailers from the UK’s high streets is affecting the commercial real estate market - author of the Cass Commercial Real Estate...

 Read Full Article
Sumitomo Climbs To City Summit

British Land has signed an agreement for lease with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe (SMBCE) Limited for 161,000sq.ft at the 100 Liverpool Street redevelopment...

 Read Full Article
TK Maxx to Open New Oxford Street Flagship Store 

European retail giant TK Maxx will open a second Oxford Street store at Mount Royal, leased by Great Portland Estates. The retailer will take 22,500 sq ft across the...

 Read Full Article
GMS Group Wins Security and Cleaning Contract With Colliers

GMS Group has won a contract to provide FM services at several of Colliers’ Gloucester client sites. Colliers is the managing agent for Gloucester City Council...

 Read Full Article
Amazon Opens First Ever Hospital-Located ‘Just Walk Out’ Store

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust has opened the world’s first checkout-free store using Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology in a healthcare...

 Read Full Article
Wates Wins M&S Fit-Out Contracts

Building and property maintenance company Wates is to deliver three large-scale fit-out contracts on behalf of Marks and Spencer. Wates will work across three stores...

 Read Full Article
Commercial Property Sales Data Shows 'It's a Buyer's Market'

A survey of UK commercial estate agents shows that commercial property sales price per square foot are set to fall by 1.6 per cent, as the market shows signs of...

 Read Full Article
First Carbon Free Steel Recycling Plant to be Built in Finland

A new steel recycling plant that will operate 100 per cent carbon free is to open in 2025. Using new pre-treatment and material analysis technology, the plant is to...

 Read Full Article