Retail reimagined We’ve all heard about the great shift in shopping as consumers move online. The Covid pandemic, so the story goes, has accelerated the transition to e-commerce, with bricks losing out to clicks. But that’s not the whole story. It’s true that our shopping patterns have been changing for some time. And it’s true that this change sped up during the pandemic. But rather than online-only, it’s the ‘omnichannel’ model that’s emerging in the dominant position.   The omnichannel experience So what is omnichannel? Essentially, it combines online and offline sales for a fuller customer experience. Many of us are already familiar with its most common manifestation – click and collect. This is a hybrid model in which you

Resilience in retail Sometimes it takes a crisis to show how the land really lies. Before the pandemic began, we at Ediston already saw out-of-town retail parks as the most attractive part of the UK’s commercial property market. The Covid crisis has only cemented our conviction. All retail sectors were hit hard by lockdown, but retail parks came through it in much better shape than most. Vacancies were relatively low, footfall recovered quicker, and many retail-park tenants remained open even at the height of lockdown. And now, the outlook is increasingly bright. So, with the future of the office sector uncertain, the Ediston Property Investment Company (EPIC) has a growing focus on the retail-warehouse sector. Before Covid struck, we already

The Company has sold its leisure asset at The Lanyard, Hartlepool, which is let to Mecca Bingo Limited. The sale price was £2.62m. The Investment Manager had completed a lease extension with the tenant in quarter four last year which extended the unexpired lease term by seven years. The Company now has one leisure asset remaining in the property portfolio.

The Company has completed the sale of its final office asset, St Philips Point, Birmingham. The headline price of the disposal was £24.5m. The sale is in line with the Company’s revised strategy, announced in Q3 2021, to sell its office assets and to reinvest the proceeds in retail warehouses, a sector which the Company believes has good potential for both income and capital growth. Calum Bruce, Investment Manager, commented: “We have completed the first phase of our revised strategy, to pivot towards the retail warehouse sector. Good progress is being made in identifying suitable retail warehouse assets to acquire, which will provide the Company with an attractive level of income, as well as asset management opportunities to exploit.”

The Company has sold its office buildings in Edinburgh (145 Morrison Street) and Newcastle (Citygate II), for a headline price of £31.4m. These sales are in line with the  revised strategy to sell its office portfolio and to reinvest the proceeds in retail warehouses, a sector in which the Investment Manager has considerable experience as an investor, developer and asset manager. Calum Bruce, Investment Manager, commented: “We have now sold three of our four office properties since we announced our new strategy. We are actively looking at reinvestment opportunities in the retail warehouse sector which are suited to our intensive style of asset management.”

The Company has sold its office building, Midland Bridge House, Bath, for £5.925m. The net initial yield is 5.7%, which is in line with the 30 September 2021 valuation. The property extends to c. 18,500 sq. ft. and is let to Royds Withy King until March 2029. The sale is in line with the Company’s new strategy to sell its office portfolio and to reinvest the proceeds in retail warehouses. Calum Bruce, Investment Manager, commented: “This is the first office sale since we announced our new strategy in Q3. Progress is being made with our other office sales and we are actively looking at reinvestment opportunities. We want to acquire retail warehouse assets which are more suited to our intensive

  In line with the recently announced strategy update, the Company has acquired Springkerse Retail Park, Stirling, for £21.85 million, in an ‘off market’ transaction. The price reflects an initial yield of 9.54%. Stirling is in central Scotland, 26 miles from Glasgow and 35 miles from Edinburgh. The Stirling Council area has a population of just under 100,000 people, which is forecast to grow at an above average rate, and draws on a primary retail catchment of 228,000.  The asset is the dominant retail park in Stirling and extends to 162,593 sq. ft. across 12 units. It is let to 10 tenants and produces a passing rent of £2.23 million per annum. The park is anchored by B&Q, with other