http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/ en-us Copyright 2009 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 15:17:30 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss average prediction of 2.9%. Individual stories vary (and the Guardian has a cute way of monitoring incoming reports here) but the one that has captured today's headlines is Marks & Spencer's announcement that sales fell by 2.2% over the third quarter's trading which, at time of writing, has wiped 20% off their share price to leave them at 398p - below the 400p Philip Green was looking to pay in 2004. Retailers are now looking to the Bank of England to cut interest rates at its meeting this week to stimulate spending. The Bank will probably not do more than a quarter-point cut owing to continuing inflation risks which may lower borrowing costs, but will probably not be enough to shake the public mood that battening down the hatches is the best thing to do at the moment. Retailers may well take the same approach with their expansion plans - particularly in light of the fact that the rise in food prices (set to continue) is inflating the figures of the market as a whole. There is 14 million sq ft of retail scheme floorspace set to come online this year - how much of it will be occupied is another question]]> http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2008/01/the-morning-after.html http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2008/01/the-morning-after.html christmas trading interest rates like-for-like marks & spencer recession retail shops trading figures year-on-year Wed, 09 Jan 2008 15:17:30 +0000 Experian footfall figures for November show shopper numbers on the high street, reflecting the start of the Christmas rush, down 2.9% on 2006, indicating the seasonal boost is later than expected. This tallies with ONS figures for October showing a 0.1% slide in sales. The cut in interest rates should make shoppers loosen their purse strings a little more, but a combination of early discounting and the the low rate of inflation once food prices are discounted (electrical goods, a major investment at Christmas, are barely registering a 1% rate) plus a disappointing first weekend in December means that the industry will struggle to show satisfactory year-on-year growth.]]> http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2007/12/too-little-too-late.html http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2007/12/too-little-too-late.html christmas trading interest rates retail shopping Fri, 07 Dec 2007 12:21:31 +0000 Yesterday's preliminary report from the competition commission on supermarkets has managed to leave the investigated being happiest with the outcome and those hoping for a tough verdict pretty disappointed. Much of the liberal commentariat has been united in reaction at the commission's verdict, believing it to be a bad thing (Guardian, Independent) whilst a note of 'read the small print' is sounded by the Telegraph and FT and Robert Peston at the BBC. Richard Hyman, also in the Telegraph, points out that the supermarkets provide a service that enables other aspects of our current lifestyle. The supermarkets are generally happy (Waitrose, Asda, Morrisons and unspoken commission target Tesco), others happy as long as further action gets taken (the NFU, BRC, the British Property Federation, Spar and the Federation of Wholesale Distributors) and the small stores are plain unhappy (FSB). ]]> http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2007/11/the-commentary-on-the-commissi.html http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2007/11/the-commentary-on-the-commissi.html asda competition commission morrisons planning law retail sainsbury's small shops supermarkets tesco waitrose Thu, 01 Nov 2007 11:47:58 +0000 Virgin has sold the Virgin Megastore chain to a management buyout team called Zavvi Entertainment Group for an undisclosed sum. The total sum paid is not the only question remaining - Who has funded the buyout? What's their strategy? (Zavvi has already announced plans to open new stores in Liverpool, Belfast and Bristol over the next year.) Will they continue to push towards selling more DVDs and computer games, reducing their reliance on physical music sales? What is the future for download service Virgin Digital, set to be rebranded? I have no idea, but it will be interesting to see if Zavvi's expectations match the sales reality.]]> http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2007/09/virgin-territory.html http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2007/09/virgin-territory.html management buy-out music downloads music sales music shops virgin virgin megastore Tue, 18 Sep 2007 10:20:54 +0000 Ann Summers lingerie, as seems customary in the media when reporting on this retailer or for that matter any lingerie retailer or even such an unprepossessing subject as permitted use of warehouse space (EG 04/08/07 for the original article with helpful photographic example). But I won't, for I think the story can speak for itself without such gratuitousness. Also the security settings at the office don't let me look at the Ann Summers site (and I'm not going to google for pics after the fallout from the "Ronald McDonald" + "sex pest" search).]]> http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2007/09/summers-not-so-hot.html http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2007/09/summers-not-so-hot.html ann summers high street retail sales figures sex sex toys Wed, 05 Sep 2007 10:13:40 +0000 Standard Life Investments and Homebase regarding Homebase's unit at the Ladymead Retail Park in Guildford has had the side effect of setting a new record rent in DIY retail of £35 per sq ft, beating the previous mark of £27.50. This is likely to be a one-off though, as rents generally in this market have stagnated over the last couple of years owing to a lack of demand. Ladymead is an exceptional case though, being the only retail park in the area and having open A1 consent. Property Week highlights that some retailers, including B&Q and Sainsbury's, have begun to buy in leases where rent reviews are due. B&Q has also embarked on a remodelling programme at several of its stores to downsize and sub-let to other retailers.]]> http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2007/08/arbitrations-what-you-need-if.html http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2007/08/arbitrations-what-you-need-if.html guildford homebase rent rent reviews retail retail parks standard life zone a Fri, 31 Aug 2007 16:30:06 +0000 Land Securities, Hammerson and Henderson, is set to sign a development agreement with the council for the £600 million Martineau Galleries scheme. The council has been looking for a development partner since 1998 for the scheme, which will comprise 2.9 million sq ft of mixed-use development linking the Bullring shopping centre to the Eastside regeneration zone.]]> http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2007/08/midlands-mixeduse-mixed-times.html http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2007/08/midlands-mixeduse-mixed-times.html Birmingham Birmingham regeneration credit crisis development mixed-use regeneration retail shopping centres Thu, 23 Aug 2007 16:18:20 +0000 Mitchells & Butlers confirmed yesterday that plans for a £4.5 billion property joint venture have been suspended. The pub company has been in talks with financiers to finance a 50:50 joint venture with Robert Tchenguiz's R20 investment vehicle, involving approximately 1,300 pubs and £240 million of rent. City analysts had previously been skeptical about the likelihood of such an arrangement, as I mentioned in an earlier post. The company said: "The Board believes that it is now not possible to execute the joint venture due to the current disruption of the debt markets which has resulted in a significant widening of credit spreads." Nils Pratley details the context and potential pitfalls here. ]]> http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2007/08/last-orders.html http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2007/08/last-orders.html investment mitchells & butler opco-propco private equity pubs retail robert tchenguiz Fri, 03 Aug 2007 16:51:01 +0000 Lend Lease has finally been selected as the preferred developer for the redevelopment of Elephant & Castle. The Australian developer, in a consortium with Elliot Lipton’s First Base and Oakmayne Properties, had beaten shortlisted rival St Modwen with Salhia Real Estate. The masterplan for the 170-acre site, designed by Ken Shuttleworth’s MAKE and released by the council last August, aims to create a sustainable "non-car parking destination", with 6,000 homes and 800,000 sq ft of retail.]]> http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2007/07/an-elephant-never-forgets-it-j-1.html http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2007/07/an-elephant-never-forgets-it-j-1.html development elephant and castle estates lend lease london plan regeneration shopping centres southwark southwark council st modwen Wed, 25 Jul 2007 16:59:01 +0000
And we're off! The Financial Times reports today that Delta Two has offered 610p a share for Sainsbury's, valuing the supermarket group at about £12 billion. Sainsbury's has not made a statement yet, but the family or management are understood not to support the bid. This would be consistent with their position since the bid by CVC was rebuffed in April. The FT says "Delta Two is now considering two options: making a full-blown takeover bid or using its shareholding to force a restructuring of Sainsbury’s property portfolio." This would require the support of Robert Tchenguiz who has a declared 5% stake in the grocer, although this is likely to be closer to 10% with derivatives. That support would almost certainly be forthcoming given his previous vocal support for an Opco-Propco arrangement that would return cash to shareholders.]]> http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2007/07/buy-something-new-today.html http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2007/07/buy-something-new-today.html delta two opco-propco private equity REIT REITS retail robert tchenguiz sainsbury's supermarket takeover Wed, 18 Jul 2007 09:56:50 +0000 Eden Walk shopping centre in Kingston upon Thames. The mall, which is anchored by Marks & Spencer, Habitat, Heals and Sainsbury’s, is situated in the centre of Kingston council’s K+20 Area Action Plan, which aims to dramatically increase the Surrey town’s shopping facilities by 2020. Hammerson, which is advising the council on the plan, has proposed a £500 million mixed-use development on 15 acres of land surrounding Eden Walk, which would include 500,000 sq ft of retail.]]> http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2007/07/who-wants-a-little-bit-of-eden.html http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2007/07/who-wants-a-little-bit-of-eden.html kingston kingston-upon-thames retail shopping shopping centres westfield yields Fri, 13 Jul 2007 16:40:49 +0000 Ernst & Young has appealed for buyers to take on individual Fopp stores, following the collapse of the chain last week. It was appointed joint administrator and receiver for the independent music retailer on Friday. Rescue talks with Virgin Megastores failed last week, though they were perhaps optimistic considering Virgin froze its store acquisition programme in April as part of a review of the business that aimed to stem losses of more than £100 million over the last two years. Taking on further debt would seem to be a curious choice, but according to The Times, Virgin was prepared to inject a big rescue loan and take a 10% stake in a new entity that kept the Fopp brand, but a source close to the deal said: "In the end the numbers just didn't add up and suppliers to Fopp would not support it." This follows rumours of HMV discussing buying some of Virgin's stores. ]]> http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2007/07/pop-goes-fopp-1.html http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2007/07/pop-goes-fopp-1.html downloads fopp hmv music music downloads music industry music sales music shops record shops retail shops virgin virgin megastore Wed, 04 Jul 2007 09:34:40 +0000 Enterprise Inns is continuing to investigate becoming a REIT, according to Caterersearch.com. The news saw shares lifted more than 6% to 772p.]]> http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2007/05/two-pints-of-lager-make-a-pack.html http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2007/05/two-pints-of-lager-make-a-pack.html enterprise inns investment mitchells & butler property pubs punch taverns REIT REITS robert tchenguiz Tue, 15 May 2007 17:01:25 +0000 announced it is to take a 49,000 sq ft store at the Capital Retail Park which will form part of Cardiff City FC's new stadium development. What does this say about the retailers thoughts on the changing retail landscape in Cardiff?]]> http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2007/05/marks-and-sparks-favours-the-parks.html http://www.egpropertylink.com/blogs/retail-property/2007/05/marks-and-sparks-favours-the-parks.html capital shopping centres cardiff department stores john lewis land securities marks & spencer marks and spencer retail retail parks shopping centres Fri, 11 May 2007 10:24:09 +0000