Realcast: UK leisure and retail recovery, resi tops rewards, 15-minute city back in spotlight
In the spotlight this week:
The Local Data Company’s 26th report shines a light on improvement in the retail and leisure sectors with decreased vacancy and reduced numbers of business closures in the UK.
City centres still lag behind out-of-town centres but just as the worst of the pandemic passed, the Ukraine war, supply chain issues and transport strikes intervened to create what has been labelled “the summer of discontent”.
But some believe a winter World Cup could help to drive consumers into pubs and restaurants and, as more shopping centre investment and development plans emerge, vacancy rates can be expected to decline further after the all-time high which occurred in H1 2020.
Further afield in hospitality sector deals, Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC bought a majority stake in Sani/Ikos Group in a deal that values the Mediterranean luxury resorts operator at €2.3 billion.
And in the London office sector UK REIT Landsec sold the Deutsche Bank HQ building to LendLease for £809 million, thought to be down on its March valuation, potentially indicating expectations of recession.
Meanwhile, a survey from Bonard analyses residential sector’s success – rent rises of 3–7% in Western Europe and up to 10–15% in Eastern European countries are part of it and, while 30% of Europeans rent their housing, this proportion is expected to increase.
Tristan Capital Partners’ CCP 5 Fund has been active at the student accommodation segment of residential with a £110 million acquisition in Liverpool; and CBRE Investment Management has bought a 133-unit residential asset in Berlin, a city in which Hines has also acquired land to develop a project that will extend a new city quarter.
This city quarter concept aligns with the “15-minute city” idea, which has taken a step forward recently as the C40 global network of mayors has formed a partnership with property investor NREP to shape sustainable and equitable cities.
Sustainability was also the main theme of a Real Asset Insight interview with Glasgow City Council about the legacy of COP26. This is also featured in the forthcoming Real Asset Impact.
Click on the video to see the full discussion or listen to the podcast below.
