Lack of opportunity behind reduced retail investment volumes

Ellandi’s Retail Property Rocks 2017: Structural changes in retail, lack of quality opportunity and a gap between buyer and seller expectations are all driving factors behind this year’s reduced retail investment market. Speaking at Ellandi’s 6th annual “Retail Rocks” property conference, Alan Lockhart, property director at NewRiver REIT, argued that the decline in investment volumes could be viewed as a normalisation of the market. He said: “You could argue that the decline is really a normalisation of the market as it depends what you are comparing it to. During the period between 2010-2015 there was a massive amount of transactions, so you could say the market is now normalising in terms of value. “The headwinds that the retail sector continues to face and structural changes in the sector have also acted as a deterrent to investment.” Bob Mogford, director, investment management at M&G, said: “A big factor is definitely the structural change and polarisation in retail. I suspect that no one things that will stop or slow and to investors change means risk. There is no shortage in capital, but a lot of this is opportunity driven and there have been very few quality opportunities.” Simon Travis, Hammerson, added: “If the right product is not there then we will sit and wait rather than invest in something that isn’t right.” In addition to lack of opportunity, the gap between buyer and seller expectations has also contributed to the lack of volumes. Simon Martin, Tristan Capital Partners, said: “There is a gap between the two on price and that gap may or may not close.”   To send feedback, e-mail amber.rolt@egi.co.uk or tweet @AmberRoltEG or @estatesgazette