Something strange happened in UK retail property this spring.
Stores fell like dominoes: Toys R Us UK and Maplin, the electronic outlet, entered insolvency; fashion retailer New Look closed dozens of shops in a company voluntary arrangement, followed by Poundworld and maternity and baby outlet Mothercare; retailer Marks and Spencer has announced store closures; and department store House of Fraser began preparing for retail closures.
But despite the exodus of tenants, according to listed companies and published indices, rents on retail stores appeared to be rising. When demand takes a plunge, intuitively one would expect the opposite. So how was that possible?
