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Opinion
‘Retail sales have fallen and e-commerce suffered’
Last month’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) retail sales figures reveal the amount shoppers bought fell -0.2% in September, and this time the new saviour of retail, online stores, fell even more dramatically. The ONS first estimate of retail sales for
September reveal the amount of goods bought by shoppers fell -0.2% compared to August, and that online sales stalled even more dramatically. We have grown used to e-commerce
saving the day for retail, but last month online sales actually fell by -2% against August. Online sales as a proportion of all retailing
was also just 19.1% in September 2019, compared with the 19.5% reported in September 2018. There is little doubt Brexit battles made
consumers wary in September, as the nation held its breath waiting to see if there would be a no-deal Brexit. Normally consumers turn to Amazon and eBay for a little retail therapy in times of trouble. But in September non-store retailing fell
back -2.9% and online department stores a whopping -4.3% as shoppers tightened their wallets and their PayPal accounts. If even e-commerce growth is faltering
amid the general Brexit gloom, UK retail looks to be in a perilous position. As I write this, October is likely to be similarly disappointing. Some kind of Brexit resolution in the
run up to the peak Christmas season is the best hope for the high street and now even online retailers.
David Jinks Head of consumer research, ParcelCompare
BTL advice can be for all, say lenders
While the buy-to-let market is moving in a more specialist direction, it should not necessarily preclude advisers from being as active as possible and targeting the sector to secure greater levels of business. That was the view of a panel of lender
representatives who were speaking at today’s FSE Midlands show, which took place at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. The lenders were asked whether the
specialist nature of buy-to-let meant that advisers also had to be specialist in this area in order to give quality advice. Karen Rodrigues from Vida Homeloans
said: “It is yes and no. When it comes to larger portfolios it
is very much a
specialism and it is true that there is less growth in one to two property landlords, who would be more vanilla buy-to-let clients anyway. “However, the more complex buy-to-let
business will always need an advisory process. If you are not in it then you need educate yourself or you need to have a strong referral process in place.” Others agreed that the level of increased
complexity in the buy-to-let sector played into brokers’ hands. “I think complexity is good for brokers,” said Adrian Moloney of OneSavings Bank. “That is where brokers come into their own. That is why clients want your advice.” “Buy-to-let should be a market for all,”
said Craig McKinlay of Kensington Mortgages. “We have certainly tried to make it simpler to conduct this type of business. “It might look complex, but it does not
necessarily have to be and, if you are not involved, then I think your missing out.” Steve Cox of Fleet Mortgages agreed that it should be a market for all. “It is a
market for all based on advisers having the knowledge and transacting business regularly,” he said. “I am not going to define what regular is
and I think there is a responsible on lenders to provide the knowledge, the education and the resources to advisers to help them advise in this sector.” Mr Cox highlighted how, in the current
environment, landlords were now more likely to be active in areas which provided a higher yield, particularly those who may have most of their portfolio based in London and the South East. “There has been a move towards more
specialist and more complex buy-to-let, and we are increasingly seeing landlords diversifying their portfolios away from the South East of England,” he said. “The yields they want are currently not
there and we’ve seen landlords move further afield in order to purchase property that is going to give them the yield they need. In that sense, as lenders we need to have the right products to fulfil those needs.”
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www.CCRMagazine.com
November 2019
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