The UK commercial property market continues to face challenging conditions, influenced by both the macroeconomic environment and emerging social trends. This is particularly true for offices and shopping centre properties, which are the focus of our 2023 report.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in flexible and hybrid working arrangements, many employers have adapted to requiring less office space. At the same time, businesses expect higher quality space in order to maximise the value of time spent working in person. For shopping centres, a slow return to store-based shopping habits — alongside a trend towards out-of-town retail parks — has presented challenges, making it difficult to maintain footfall and retain occupiers in central locations.
As the UK economy faces the strain of limited growth, the review of costs will be high on the agenda for all business leaders as they monitor and adapt their strategies. In this year’s report we have been able to identify the influence of rising inflation on service charge costs, and where these increases have had the greatest impact.
In developing PropCost, we’ve set out to deliver truly independent analysis of service charge costs. This year’s report is a review of service charge expenditure data from late-2020 through to the beginning of 2023. We are proud to be developing PropCost in association with RICS and with the support of our contributors. Together, we share a vision to promote transparency in service charge data, with costs aligned to RICS categories and accounting principles. As we continue to develop PropCost in line with this vision, we will look to add value by building an online, real-time benchmarking tool.
Download Propcost Offices 2023