Retail market sluggish, says Colliers
RETAIL landlords in the North West failed to increase rental levels in any of the centres around the region over the past 12 months, making it the only part of the UK other than Wales whose retail market showed no signs of improvement.
A new report by property consultancy colliers showed that overall Zone A rental levels in the region dropped 3.1% to £95 per sq ft, compared with a national fall of 1.4%.
None of its major retail centres were listed among the top-performing centres in the country, but Widnes was names as one of the worst-performing as rental levels dropped by an average of around 16.7% to just £50 per sq ft.
The report stated that although larger regional centres such as Manchester city centre ant the Trafford Centre managed to maintain Zone A rents, (which stood at £400 per sq ft at the latter) there was evidence of an “ongoing mismatch between all of the UK regions and central London, where the retail market achieved rental growth of 1.1%.
“After a relatively bright start to 2010, dark clouds are forming over the UK retail market, leaving only an isolated patch of sunshine over the capital,” the report said.
“There is growing concern about tax rises and job cuts as the new coalition government attempts to reduce the public sector deficit meaning consumers are likely to become more cautious about their spending habits.”
