Shops, shopping centres and retail parks suffered one of their sharpest monthly falls in value since the financial crisis in November, highlighting the pressure on the retail industry and dealing a blow to pension funds invested in the sector.
CBRE, Britain’s largest valuer, said that retail property values had fallen by 1.9% month-on-month, the biggest drop since May 2009, except for the period immediately after the Brexit referendum in 2016.
There are fears that the fall is only the beginning for retail property, which is suffering from a structural shift towards online shopping, an increase in costs from business rates, a higher minimium wage and fragile consumer confidence.
