City Centre Real Estate Markets. Changing retail practice and adaptation (WPC Policy Brief)

While the unprecedented structural changes faced by the UK retailing industry have made for headline news, little attention has been given to the implications for property owners. This is despite the pivotal role they play in providing retailing and other city centre space. Owners are facing a challenging future in which they must respond concurrently to the needs of retailers and shoppers, as well as society more widely. This often involves changes in the use of their properties and to the ways they manage their as- sets. This Policy Brief is a summary of a study which examined the interrelationships between changes in prop- erty use, real estate practices and localised patterns of urban development. The study formed part of a wider retail research project1 conducted across the retailing cores of five regionally significant cities (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hull, Liverpool and Nottingham). The wider project aimed to better understand the adaptive capacity and resilience of city centres. The study’s findings are intended to support policymakers charged with managing urban centres, proper- ty owners, and property management professionals by making six recommendations