The Retailer Summer Edition 2022

SUMMER 202 2

2 5

Summary At the end of the day, the message from occupi ers is cost versus value. If an occupier receives a benefit, it will pay the cost. If not, there will be push-back. For landlords, they need to bal ance the needs and concerns of different types of occupier that may hold leases of varying lengths and to varying margins, some of which may – and, arguably, should – be socially-trad ing organisations, but which overall have a manifest benefit to all trading occupiers. As a result, some flexibility is likely to be required to enable landlords to manage effectively and to support a more diverse retail eco-system, from which all benefit. The recommendations in the Platform for Places report go some way to setting out a path to an exciting future, however, as the initiative has demonstrated, collaboration, communication and community need to be the starting point.

Collaboration, commu nication and community need to be the starting point.” ‘‘ Finding a resolution to this debate may actually be assisted by the exposure to utilities costs felt as a result of the Ukrainian conflict. Green technologywas previously seen as having too long a payback period to be worth the capital investment. The ability to be more self-reliant as regards power paired with the ESG agenda may mean that the arithmetic has a different result. But there is still an upfront cost and, at present, it isn’t agreedwho should pay for that.

Kirsty Black kirsty.black@shoosmiths.co.uk

Click here to read more about Shoosmiths’s plans to deliver a high street revival.