The West Country In My View By Andrew Hardwick of Carter Jonas


When asked to write a few words about “In My View” it struck a chord with something I’ve been thinking about recently in relation to retail property.


Traditionally retail shops, other than large supermarkets or out of town retail warehouse properties, have been valued using the Zoning method. This is based on the assumption that the first 6.1 metres (formerly 20 feet) of the shop back from


the window is the most valuable space because that space, to the person standing in the street, is “in my view”.


The move to online shopping particularly post Covid, has dramatically reduced the number of people who now look in shop windows. Whether its clothing to be delivered to your door, or looking for your next home on Rightmove, the looking is all now mostly online. Retail units are now destination shops. You know where you are going and what for. Very rarely will you be walking by a shop window; see something and go in.


Over the last few years, the majority of lettings that I have completed on retail shops have been for service sector or food and drink operations. Barbershops, beauty salons, nail bars, coffee shops have been the largest take up and most of those have been in secondary rather than prime locations. The reason has largely been due to cost, where the operators are no longer concerned


about what Zone A rate they are paying, it’s just a matter of how much they can afford to pay per week or per month?


Even on slightly larger shops, I’ve been seeing established retailers looking at pitches and saying “That’s a £30,000 per annum pitch”, or “that’s a £20,000 per annum pitch”. In My View the days of valuing retail properties by Zoning are diminishing. I can see a move toward shops becoming like office or industrial space and valued by just by placing an overall rate per metre on the floor area.


Turning to the office sector, In My View, we are definitely now at last seeing a return of the office market as more occupiers are requiring their staff to return to the office workplace at least in some capacity. In My View, a degree of flexible working is here to stay forever, with companies adopting a variety of approaches. Most now appear to be requiring staff to be in the office a minimum of 2 or 3 days a week with added conditions such as staff can’t have more than 2 Fridays off in a month.


The bulk of office enquiries I’ve received in recent months have still been from companies looking to downsize, but at least there is movement in the market. Many vacant office buildings continue to be looked at by developers interested in converting them to residential use under Permitted Development rights. In my Wiltshire market town region, I think it will be a very long time, if ever, before we see any speculative new build office development.


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Bruton Knowles Growth Grounded in South-West Heartland Knowles


National chartered surveyor firm, Bruton


has recently


reported considerable growth across the UK, with the launch of new National Teams and offices opening in Wales and Scotland. But, the business which considers its Gloucester base as its head office, remains committed to its South-West roots.


Most recently the firm extended its services from a busy Bristol base, secured bigger premises for its Leominster team, and opened new locations at Taunton, Wimborne and Exeter, to act as hubs for a growing regional support team, primarily for its building consultancy services and for the utilities and infrastructure (U&I) sector.


Managing Partner at Bruton Knowles, James Bailey, explains the importance of the region to the business.


“From Gloucester, all the way down to Exeter, we can provide our customers with a strong level of customer service, that provides them with support for all of their possible needs.”


As James mentions, office space in the South-West has grown to an all-new level for the team throughout the last year. Offices in Taunton, Exeter and Wimborne have been established, to match the exceptional level of demand the company’s various National Teams have experienced.


The South-West roster of offices is filled out by the pre-existing spaces in Gloucester and Bristol, ensuring Bruton Knowles’s regional capacity has never been larger.


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But these spaces are being filled with the very best talent, ensuring the company not only provides the best service, but continues its growth, as James explains: “Our growth plans for the business, and our U&I National Teams in particular, have had to be accelerated because we were able to secure key specialist staff to lead the charge, as well as subsequent interest from new business prospects.


“Now, we are making sure that our teams have the right environment in place to support them, including a dedicated location to emphasise our long-term presence.


“The placement of experienced figureheads for the business, such as Head of Utilities & Infrastructure South, Gillian Froud in Wimborne, and Head of Building Consultancy South, Ed Vereker, in Exeter, illustrates this further.”


This wealth of experience and skills is all designed to provide tailored advice to clients across professional and construction requirements.


One of the company’s largest active projects is the Hinkley Point Connection Project, between Bridgwater and Avonmouth in the South- West, a large development consent order alongside working with other regional utility companies. This is being overseen by a team of chartered surveyors in our Taunton office.


In a year in which Bruton Knowles opened its first Scottish office, and continues to look at viable bases across the UK, the company was also recognised as one of Gloucestershire’s most profitable businesses.


As James says, Bruton Knowles will always have a strong presence in the South-West: “The South-West was where we started as a firm back in 1862, and it remains an area of great importance and relevance to us all. 2024 looks set to bring more growth for our company across the country and region.”


COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MONTHLY 2024

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