The latest RICS Commercial Market Survey has just been published for the fourth quarter of 2008. It reports that activity across all sectors of the commercial property market eased further in Q4 2008, with most headline indicators plumbing new lows. Occupier demand, as shown by enquiries for property, declined at the fastest pace in the Survey's 10 year history, with retail again the worst performing sector, thanks to a number of high profile bankruptcies. The decline in the retail sector was followed by the office and industrial sectors in order, where there also confidence has slackened. At the same time the amount of available floorspace on the market has increased at the fastest pace in the Survey's history with more space reported as being available across all sectors and all regions, but with the most rapid increase reported in London and the South East. In some areas, the rate of increase has more than doubled, which has prompted the sharpest rise in incentives offered to tenants to occupy floorspace in London and the South.

RICS Market Survey contributor, Andrew Kilpatrick, partner of Thompsons said, “Whilst the RICS Survey certainly paints a gloomy picture, the local market in Swindon and Wiltshire is far from dormant. The downturn in the commercial property market is an inevitable reflection of an economy that is sliding into a sharp recession, forcing businesses to focus on cost efficiency. Just a short stroll through the town centre will show that recession is affecting Swindon, just as many towns, across the country. Empty shops, once occupied by Woolworths, Adams, Officers Club, Zavvi, Whittards, are amongst the nearly 100 shops currently on the market. Nobody wants to keep useable floorspace empty at any time, but in the current economic recession, demand for property is slack and it is difficult to find occupiers for vacant property as businesses generally cut back in reaction to the effects of the recession, thanks to Government policy. Then to add insult to injury, there is then the burden of empty property rates to face. In our view, the recession is affecting so many businesses throughout all sectors, an early recovery seems unlikely. I think it is naïve for anyone to expect one town to buck the trend when the economy is facing such severe national problems and those poor souls who believe that we are going to somehow get back to normality in a few months, might be in for an unpleasant surprise, in my view.”

 Back to News Archive