Retail was the best performing real estate sector for the second month in a row in the United Kingdom, according to the latest U.K. Monthly Index produced by CBRE.
The sector recorded a total return of 0.8 percent in February, with capital value growth at 0.2 percent over the month. Standard shops and retail warehouses recorded value increases of 0.3 percent compared with 0.1 percent for shopping centers. Rental value growth was also 0.2 percent in February. Standard shops saw slightly higher rental value growth (0.3 percent) than retail warehouses (0.2 percent), while shopping center rental values were unchanged.
However, the promising news has been tapered somewhat by figures release by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG. Although the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor for February says U.K. retail sales increased by 1.1 percent year-over-year, the headline figure masks significant challenges facing independent retailers, warns the British Ind
