Retail premises repurposed as offices

CSquared recently let a vacant retail unit as an office, on Walcot Street in Bath. The significance of this letting is not to be underestimated.

The unit, in retail use, had sales space at ground floor and storage in the basement. The rent for storage in retail use (in this location) is only 10% of the rent set against the sales space. Due to the configuration, and importantly, as the lower ground floor has natural light, the Landlord was able to repurpose both floors as office accommodation, which produced a significant uplift in rental value.

This marks a significant step for rental analysis for sub prime retail space, under the new Use Class Regulations and reclassification of A1 Retail under a Class E in the rules brought forward in September 2020, which now include offices under the same definition.