Martin Hughes

Valuations: certainty in uncertain times

Martin Hughes, Director, Eddisons incorporating Barker Storey Matthews, stresses the ongoing importance of evidence when it comes to deciding valuations in uncertain times.

Earlier this month (January), the RICS’ ‘think tank’ on material uncertainty clauses (MUCs) convened to conclude that the trading circumstances of repeated lockdown phases were no bar to qualified professionals’ ability to assess and make property valuations.

To the reading of a lay audience or property professionals with only a passing understanding of valuations, the decision of the latest meeting of – to give the think tank its correct name – the RICS Material Valuations Uncertainty Leaders Forum – may seem counter intuitive.

But the counterpoint of those qualified and experienced in the professional valuations discipline is that MUCs have always had a validity. Albeit that validity is limited and only applicable in certain, exceptional circumstances where the evidence or, indeed, an absence of evidence points to the inclusion of an MUC in a valuation following rigorous due diligence.

Not all valuations require evidence.

Admittedly, while acknowledging a degree of uncertainty in certain sectors, such as leisure, hospitality and prime retail, there have been transactions during the past 10 months which have continued in the face of very difficult circumstances.

Fortunately, for those professionals operating in the industrial sector – which has continued to perform strongly set against the lack of available stock – there is, relatively speaking, a solid body of evidence based on market conditions.

Deploying MUCs as a simple default position when and where evidence exists and when trends can be demonstrated simply because of pandemic-induced business lockdowns – whether en masse or in tiered phases – cannot be justified.

While the wholesale use of MUCs cannot be supported there will be presently – just as there have always been – some cases in which their use is justified in reflecting the evidence and the particular attributes of the property asset and its position in the market at that specific point in time.

The guiding principle of the discipline and the practice of valuations is that there should not be a blanket ‘who knows’.

For any registered valuer to reach the conclusion where an MUC is inserted in a valuation, it means that the decision has been reached only after due diligence has been carried out.

The MUC accompanying the valuation in this instance will then have been based on the lack of available evidence to support a value predating the current economic turbulence.

What any professionally qualified valuer cannot be sure of is the performance of future values and it is incumbent on professionals to recommend to interested parties that some property types are kept under more frequent review.

For more information on valuations services, see https://eddisons.com/services/valuations/valuations-quick-guide

Electrical wholesaler fired-up by area’s potential

An independent electrical wholesaler is set to open a new trade counter in St Ives next month (February) following the conclusion of a deal which saw the Huntingdon office of Eddisons incorporating Barker Storey Matthews act as agent on behalf of the landlord.

The 1,833 sq ft (175 sq m) Unit 5 at Joiners Court, off Nuffield Road in St Ives, will be the first premises in the area for GDA Electrical Wholesaler Ltd whose only other location is in Bedford.

Established in 2016, the wholesaler serves trade and retail customer bases and is opening the new Joiners Court trade counter to serve an existing customer base and to tap the potential for new customers in an area where, it believes, there is not a strong electrical wholesaler presence.

Gerald Sylvester, Director, GDA Electrical Wholesaler Ltd, confirmed that the company had been looking for business premises in the area for six months before securing the Joiners Court unit where the main attractions were its location, the new-build unit itself and its easy access.

He added, “On opening, we will initially staff our St Ives branch from our current team of eleven staff but we will be looking to recruit locally as the business grows.”

Stephen Power, Director, Eddisons – who led the letting instruction – said, “Unit 5 is the final unit available to let at Joiners Court which is a brand new terrace of industrial units in the main industrial, commercial area of St Ives where other occupiers include Parker Rose Kitchens & Interiors and Tech Tile.

“The new occupier’s property requirements were typical of the kind of enquiry with which we dealt throughout last year and also in the first month of 2021.

“The industrial slice of market looks set to continue to be the most active.”

For more information about industrial premises to let in the St Ives, Huntingdon and St Neots areas, contact Stephen Power at the local office of Eddisons incorporating Barker Storey Matthews, 01480 451578, [email protected] or see eddisons.com/barker-storey-matthews.

Industrial lets maintain momentum on South Cambs estate

Momentum in the industrial lettings market continues apace as the year begins (2021) with the Cambridge office of Eddisons incorporating Barker Storey Matthews having confirmed the letting of the final two units at Solopark Trading Estate in Pampisford.

The firm has been the sole agent on a suite of industrial instructions at the South Cambridgeshire trading estate where the remaining two, newly constructed units of 12a and 13a have been recently let to companies working locally in the electrical and technology sectors.

Solopark Trading Estate is an established and secure business location with good access to the regions mains roads – the A11, M11 and A14.

As one of a select number of similar industrial estates serving the Cambridge conurbation, the agent was always confident of the available units’ appeal to operators in the industrial or the trade counter fields.

Ben Green of the local office of Eddisons incorporating Barker Storey Matthews said, “We have commented recently on the outstanding performance of the industrial sector in this past year’s commercial property market.

“Lettings like these at Solopark Trading Estate, together with ongoing investor appetite for freehold purchase in the industrial sector, have underpinned market momentum this year when it comes to property moves.”

For more information on industrial units to let in the Cambridge area, contact Ben Green tel 01223 456155, [email protected] or see eddisons.com/barker-storey-matthews.

Industrial appeal characterises investment sale deal

The sale of three interlinked business units on Harvard Way, Kimbolton by the Huntingdon office of Eddisons incorporating Barker Storey Matthews rounds off a year (2020) which has seen the industrial sector as the star performer on the local – and national – commercial property scene.

The agent recently published its annual review in which it pointed to the role the Covid-19 pandemic in retaining the focus of investors and occupiers on industrial business premises in considering property moves during the past twelve months.

This latest deal announced by the Huntingdon office sees three units, Units 1-3, at Harvard Way on Harvard Industrial Estate, Kimbolton purchased by Italian Food Traders who plan to run a wholesale food business from the offices and workspaces at the linked units.

Eddisons incorporating Barker Storey Matthews was the sole agent acting on behalf of the vendor and the premises were marketed for sale at a guide price of £332,500.

For more information on industrial business premises in the Huntingdon area, contact Matthew Hunt at the local office of Eddisons incorporating Barker Storey Matthews, tel 01480 451578 or see eddisons.com/barker-storey-matthews.

Retail investment sales tell a different town centre tale

The recent sale to two retail properties on Huntingdon High Street reinforces the position that town centre bricks and mortar still retains appeal to property investors.

That’s the view of the Huntingdon office of Eddisons incorporating Barker Storey Matthews who, as the sole selling agent on each property, has confirmed the completion of the sales of 34 and 87/88 High Street to new owners while tenants in situ and trading on current lease terms.

The restaurant premises of 1,580 sq ft (146.8 sq m) at 34 High Street were offered for sale with a published guide price of £245,000.

The retail element of the 1,461 sq ft (135.73 sq m) premises sold at 87 and 88 High Street is occupied by a florist and has three single bedroom flats too.  It was marketed for sale at £425,000.

While the prices achieved on sale remain confidential, the agent confirmed that that the properties’ new owners will achieve net rental yields reflecting the current local – and national – retail market picture.

Speaking on behalf of Eddisons incorporating Barker Storey Matthews, Matthew Hunt of the Huntingdon office said, “Media headlines about high streets, understandably, focus on retailers’ operational difficulties in the present climate but property investors always look to the long term.

“There is movement in the retail investment market and as retail operators focus their attention on the immediate and also post-pandemic trading conditions, it’s a boost for Huntingdon to know that the right premises in the right location still offer returns as an attractive investment.”

For more information on retail property opportunities in the Huntingdon area, contact Matthew Hunt at the local office of Eddisons incorporating Barker Storey Matthews, tel 01480 451578 or see eddisons.com/barker-storey-matthews.