Pearl & Coutts: UK Shops To Rent As Consumer Confidence Up

Commercial property company Pearl & Coutts comment on positive news from the British Retail Consortium. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) May 14, 2013 - Research released by the British Retail Consortium and KPMG shows both increased footfall and sales during February and March. Despite the cold weather, high street footfall had increased by 0.8% compared to the same time last year. Specifically, by February retailers saw an annual increase of 2.7 %. Sales values were also up, with an overall industry rise of 3.7%. Commercial property company Pearl & Coutts welcomed the news as a positive indicator for retail businesses.

Retailers certainly welcomed the news as they battled through the coldest March on record for the previous 50 years. Yet like for like sales actually increased during March by 1.9% across both high street and online sales. The same figures for the first quarter showed a 2.2% increase. The British Retail Consortium pointed to the research as an indication of positive trends and renewed consumer confidence. They also pointed to a stronger performance even after the figures were adjusted to guard against any possible 'artificial boost' due to sales over the long Easter weekend. The growth in the first quarter has been the strongest seen since 2009. There have also been other measures recently pointing to increased consumer confidence. The Deloitte Consumer Tracker for 'consumer sentiment' regarding disposable income reflects how much money consumers feel they can spend after essential bills are met. It was launched in 2011 and showed an increase in confidence of some nine points on the index. Overall it was reported that shopper's confidence was at the highest level seen since the index began.

"This is all very welcome news for UK retailers. The first quarter is often thought of as one of the most challenging times, when the bad weather can really affect sales. The research comes as a very welcome contrast. We are still receiving a lot of enquiries for our shops to rent. We have retail premises available in a number of varied locations across the country. We have been helping businesses to find the right premises since the 1960s and our team genuinely understand the challenges that can affect retailers. We obviously understand how an optimal location can be a tremendous boost to their sales. So our team work with the retailers, listening to their needs, to find them the best available opportunities for their particular niche," said a spokesman from Pearl & Coutts.

Pearl & Coutts have a number of shops to rent in handpicked locations across the UK. To find out more about how they could match your commercial property needs to the best available locations, please speak to their team on 020 7843 3788. Their current selection of UK shops to let can also be viewed on their website.

http://www.pearl-coutts.co.uk

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