High Street Not Hot Property

Property agent Colliers CRE has warned a raft of development schemes could cause high street retail oversupply in the next five years. Colliers has identified 23 million sq ft of high street space that will become available in town centres by 2008, and said a slowdown in consumer spending could have a dramatic effect on the supply and demand ratio.

Colliers' Midsummer Retail Report predicted high street rents will rise by 2.0 per cent in 2003 and 2.1 per cent in 2004, but said this may fall longer term, especially for unites less than 5,000 sq ft.