Three quarters of commercial landlords say vacancy levels have increased
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Rising vacancy levels are increasing the pressure on commercial landlords, with new research showing that three-quarters have experienced an increase in empty property over the space of a year.
This latest insight comes following a survey of 350 UK commercial property owners commissioned by SafeSite Facilities and carried out by Censuswide.
Landlords gave unequivocal evidence of a difficult market at a time when empty properties in the high street are making headlines and tenant demand across multiple sectors is a challenge.
When asked whether levels of vacant commercial property in their portfolio increased, decreased, or stayed the same compared to a year ago, the results were:
· 76% said they had increased
· 42% said they had increased significantly
· Only 3% said they had decreased
The findings also suggest that vacancy is not simply a short-term void between leases.
· 81% of landlords said they have had at least a tenth of their portfolio vacant for more than three months during the past year.
· 20% said up to half of their portfolio (between 26-50%) had been vacant for more than three months.
Paul Goossens, operations director at SafeSite Facilities said: “These figures are concerning for commercial landlords because empty properties are clearly bad for business and also come with additional risks and costs.
“Keeping an empty property secure against the threat of vandalism, squatting, fire and flooding, for instance, is a challenge.
“The market is complicated by the cost of living, international political events and a rise in flexible working, so there is no simple solution on the horizon. And it is not only the high street that is suffering. We are seeing an increase in empty commercial property across the board.
“The most recent RICS empty property monitor revealed a net balance of -19% in tenant demand and the headline occupier sentiment index for all commercial property sectors came in at -10%.”
Those figures are backed up by new data with several sectors equally as impacted as retail property according to the SafeSite survey:
· 78% of warehouses and industrial landlords have seen a rise in empty property
· 75% of landlords of office space say the same
In the past year 72% said levels of vacancy in retail had increased and this figure was 68% for hospitality and leisure property.
Paul added: “This issue goes across the board and it’s crucial that landlords take proper steps to protect empty property and seek professional advice around security and risk assessment.”
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Editors notes
SafeSite Facilities is a leader in construction, event site safety and security, which operates nationwide across the UK, providing an extensive range of products.
It delivers and installs barriers, traffic management, fencing and hoarding, alarms, CCTV and construction site safety products, for construction sites, major highways projects, events and festivals. Founded in 2009, SafeSite Facilities boasts numerous leading accreditations including Cyber Essentials Plus, Achilles UVDB, CHAS, CLOCS, Construction online Gold, FORS Gold, RISQS SafeContractor and SMAS. It is also accredited for ISO 9001(Quality), 14001 (Environment) and 45001 (OH&S), as well as Carbon Neutral Britain.
