Commercial rents 'likely to stay unchanged'

01 March 2010

Written by Michael Aglony

Commercial mortgage holders may be interested in claims that retail property rents are unlikely to be changed this year.

GVA Grimley, an advisory agency, made the predictions following reports from Cushman & Wakefield that found retail rents to have dropped last year.

Head of retail at the advisory organisation Jason Sibthorpe said while rents are unchanged, incentive levels are being "squeezed".

"London certainly continues to attract a very eclectic mix of retailers both national and international and for that reason it will continue to be resilient," he added.

Mayfair and Bond Street were cited by Mr Sibthorpe as examples where rents were pushed to record levels in 2009.

Cushman & Wakefield's reports noted an eight per cent drop in the average retail property rent last year.

This trend was seen in most of the country's major cities during the final quarter of 2009, although London fared better.

But figures from the British Retail Consortium noted that the worst ever January sales growth figures occurred at the start of 2010.

Find out more on our commercial mortgages and how we can help you achieve your aims - enquire online.