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Reuters
Published
Jul 4, 2017
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After Brexit vote, property developer St. Modwen backs away from retail

By
Reuters
Published
Jul 4, 2017

British property developer St. Modwen will not embark on any major retail projects as brick-and-mortar retailers are squeezed by lower consumer spending and the growing threat from online rivals.


A Farnborough retail centre from St. Modwen's property portfolio - Photo: St. Modwen



The company would instead focus on building houses in areas with strong demand as well as "sheds and beds" as it looks to capitalise on the growth in demand for warehouse and logistic sheds from e-commerce companies and student accommodation projects, Chief Executive Mark Allan said."In terms of actually putting projects on hold, the only thing I would point to is that we're cautious about retail investment and therefore not looking to invest into new retail development at this point," Allan told Reuters.

The UK retail property market has been struggling as many established businesses have lost ground to discount and online rivals.

The decline in value of the pound after last year's Brexit vote has inflated the cost of imported goods and increased the pressure on real wages, forcing retail property developers to rethink growth plans.

St. Modwen has spent about 250 million pounds developing property in each of the past five years and about 15 percent of that has gone towards retail, Allan said.


 

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