BCSC hears calls for lease reform
Published: 03 November, 2010
Retailers and property owners called for a new way of working together at the BCSC conference
The retail property industry called for major changes to the UK’s leasing structure at this year’s BCSC Conference & Exhibition in Manchester.Owners and occupiers agreed that a review of leasing practices is needed in order to support the evolving requirements of landlords and retailers alike.
Lawrence Hutchings, managing director UK retail at Hammerson, said: “Now is the time to change our approach with a comprehensive review of the UK’s leasing structure. How many international retailers find our leasing structure difficult to navigate? We are the only G8 country to operate within this outdated system – and other markets work perfectly well without it.”
From the retailers’ perspective, Terry Hartwell, group property director at Morrison’s, said: “Rent review surveyors talk in terms of ‘winning’ and ‘losing’. One side is always trying to ‘beat’ the other. Victories and defeats are recorded as evidence and repeated in other battles up and down the country. It is difficult, sometimes impossible, to get past the mistrust this approach instils. As we all know, you can’t have a partnership without trust. “Owners and occupiers do actually share a common purpose – the successful economic use of a building. They also share common enemies, including bureaucracy and red tape.”
Over 2,500 delegates attended the three-day event in Manchester. And the BCSC has confirmed that from next year the event will be brought forward to September, with venues booked for Manchester in 2011 and Liverpool in 2012.
