London's Prime Retail Rents Climb Despite Brexit Worries
UK’s prime commercial property rents inched up by 1% in the second quarter of 2016, boosted by near-record levels of rental growth in Central London shops, according to CBRE’s Prime Rent and Yield Monitor.
Rents grew significantly across several sectors during the quarter, with high street shops and industrial rents rising 2.8% and 1.4%, respectively. High street shops in Central London drove up overall shop rents, increasing 8.9% over the last quarter. One-third of the tracked locations in Central London saw rent increases over the quarter, demonstrating retailers’ willingness to pay premium rents for the limited supply of real estate in the most sought-after streets of the capital.
CBRE’s head of UK research Miles Gibson said that despite the heightened uncertainty in the run-up to the referendum vote, the commercial property sector demonstrated strong underlying health. Miles cautioned that rental growth is unlikely to keep up the fervid pace next quarter, but says the UK is well-positioned to capitalise on the demand for new space.
