Tenant enquiry at neighbourhood centres fell in six months to June: JLL
The level of tenant enquiry for neighbourhood shopping centres in the six months to June 2017 has fallen compared to the previous six month period, according to a recent JLL survey.
The JLL Survey of Centre Managers interviewed landlords of shopping centres managed by JLL.
Tenant enquiry remained below the neutral 0.0% mark for the third straight survey, with a net balance of -5.9% compared with -6.4% in December 2016 and -7.8% in June 2016, highlighting the challenges faced by leasing executives and centre managers in attracting new tenants in the current economic climate.
Figure 4 highlights the “net balance” in enquiry levels between December 2011 and June 2017.
The results were similar to the previous two surveys, JLL said. As with previous surveys, the overwhelming response was that centre managers expected enquiry levels to remain the same. A strong turn around in retail fortunes is not anticipated in the short-term.
Enquiries were dominated by “mum and dad” retailers, which reflects both the high number of neighbourhood centres within the Centre Managers’ Survey and the cautious approach being taken by national chains to expansion.
Enquiry tends to be predominantly from food-based retailers (both food catering and specialty food retailers) and casual mall retailers (see next section).
There was some improvement in enquiry from food catering (takeaway food & beverage) as well as kiosks. Kiosks provide prospective retailers with a lower level commitment in terms of total space leased and overall rent. Enquiry from the discount variety sector was relatively weak, with over 50% of respondents indicating enquiry was weak or very weak.