BHS going into liquidation has not come as a surprise to the property industry.
Landlords will be left with vacant space, but following the CVA, it is clear which shops will be easily relet and which may struggle.
Stephen Springham, head of retail research at Knight Frank, said: What is to become of the 160-store estate? Most affected landlords have started to build some degree of contingency, but some stores will inevitably be easier to relet to other occupiers than others. A whole host of retailers will have already run the slide rule over the estate and will cherry pick those that suit their needs. For some, there may be healthy interest from a number of parties. Others may need to realign rental value to become attractive. Others may need more drastic action before they come back into eg total reconfiguration. If there is any consolation, the much bigger Woolworths estate has largely been reabsorbed back into the market, despite initial scepticism to the contrary.”
Damian Sumner, head of retail agency at JLL, said: This announcement at least gives landlords clarity, so they can now put into place their plans, and gives retailers a clear and affordable route to deliver deals. The key issue with the stores will be repairing and reconfiguring them to fit new needs. It is clear that the management of the company and its failure to innovate at a rapid enough pace are the main reasons behind the lack of buyers and bids of the company.”
Jonathan De Mello, head of retail consultancy at Harper Dennis Hobbs, said: “In terms of the 163 stores to close, I believe that a number of these will be relet as they are for the most part large units in relatively prime locations in good-sized town centres. The nature of the retailers that may take on these units will be more discount-oriented, however. The food consent Sir Philip Green had secured on many of the units will make the majority of them attractive to discounters such as Aldi and Lidl.”
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