Retail
Property expert slams lack of action on business rates
A Birmingham property specialist has hit out at the lack of action by politicians in tackling the ‘business rates crisis’ which is threatening to decimate Britain’s high-street. John Webber, head of business
rates at Colliers International, said retailers were being hit with sky- high rates bills at a time of difficult market conditions. Mr Webber highlighted the difficulties being faced by high- street giant John Lewis, which recently posted its first ever half year loss.
‘No one in power or even the opposition seems prepared to tackle the business rates crisis’
The John Lewis Partnership
includes supermarket chain Waitrose, and, according to Colliers, is facing an eye-watering business rates bill of around £173m in the current year (£56.4m for John Lewis stores and £116.7m for Waitrose). The business is being forced by
the taxman to stump up a massive £1.285m in rates on just one
John Lewis recently suffered its first ever half year loss
building, 2 Station Street in Birmingham, this year. The John Lewis store in Station
Street is one of 11 operated by the business that will have to cough up more than £1m in rates this year. Mr Webber said the 2019/20 total rates bill for the Partnership as a whole was a massive 20 per cent higher than it was in 2017. He said: “The increasing shift to
online shopping, rising costs, including the rise in the minimum wage and dampened consumer confidence reflected in falling sales, are all taking their toll on both John Lewis and Waitrose and it is no wonder the company is needing to take defensive measures. “John Lewis recently announced
that it is combining a layer of its John Lewis and Waitrose senior management operations, enabling it to slash its senior management by one third. But nobody is really taking into account the impact of the business rates environment. While John Lewis is currently negotiating with landlords over the rents and even the service charges that it pays, one area of costs -
Retail Therapy
By Stephanie Lacey General Manager, Bullring & Grand Central
As we approach our busiest period of trading I believe we’re in a strong position in terms of offering our customers a unique and diverse retail offering. Over the last few months we’ve
welcomed a number of new retailers to the destination including designer kidswear boutique, Base, in Grand Central, and iconic denim brand, Levi’s, to the Upper West Mall. Digbeth Dining Club favourite, Indian Streatery, has also taken a prominent unit on St Martin’s Walk, bringing their delicious brand of Indian street food dishes to shoppers.
Anticipation is building as the Bullring prepares for Christmas
During this time we’ve also seen a
number of retailers including COS, Pandora and Footlocker reinvest in their stores. H&M, which sits across three floors of the mall, has also had an overhaul; while the lower two floors remain dedicated to the brand’s fashion offering, the top level has reopened as H&M Home. We’re really excited about the
new Lego store, which will open on Upper West Mall later this month. The store will stock a wide selection of the latest Lego sets as well as offering a range of interactive play and event experiences including a Pick &
Build Wall and Digital Box where you can see any boxed Lego set come to life in 3D. We know that when our
shoppers visit the centre they expect more than just a trip to the shops and that’s why we endeavour to surprise and delight our customers with mall enlivenment, events and experiences. During 2019 we’ve hosted over 20 events including performances from various arts organisations via our partnership with Birmingham Hippodrome. Between now and Christmas we will deliver another six events for visitors including live
kids’ character appearances, a performance of ‘The Nutcracker’ by Birmingham Royal Ballet and a spectacular Christmas extravaganza from Birmingham Hippodrome. As a retail destination, the last
few months of the year are our busiest trading period and we expect to see in excess of one million shoppers a week walk through our doors in the run-up to the big day. We also anticipate a busy Boxing Day as the likes of Selfridges and Next launch their iconic sales. We’re really excited, and we can’t want for the festive celebrations to start in earnest.
November 2019 CHAMBERLINK 77
John Webber: retail is on the slippery slope, thanks to sky-high business rates
business rates - is set in stone – and there is no room for manoeuvre. And bills are likely to continue to rise over next year too. “We need to allow retailers such
as John Lewis a chance to ease their rates burdens immediately. “Sadly, no one in power or even
the opposition seems prepared to tackle the business rates crisis. “Maintaining a punitive tax
system against the bigger retail players while providing relief for the smaller retailers, does little to prevent store closures and job losses as we have seen elsewhere in the market. When quality retailers like John Lewis start to feel the pinch, we know we are already some way down the slippery slope of a decimated sector.”
Sector Focus
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