Is it time to shop for a high street investment bargain? Lockdown rules will ease, while a tax on online sales could hit internet stores
By ROSIE MURRAY-WEST, FINANCIAL MAIL ON SUNDAY
PUBLISHED: 21:51, 6 March 2021 | UPDATED: 08:47, 7 March 2021
The country’s shuttered stores breathed a sigh of relief last week as the Chancellor announced an extension to the furlough scheme as well as a series of grants to help them reopen – and continued discounts on business rates until the end of the tax year.
But Rishi Sunak was silent, in the Budget at least, on the possibility of a mooted online retail tax aimed at levelling the playing field after the pandemic caused bricks and mortar shops to close while online sales soared…
WINNERS AND LOSERS DURING LOCKDOWN
The relative success of retailers has depended on sector and channel…
RETAILERS WITH THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
Some fund managers believe that value is to be found in hybrid retailers with a good online presence but which also give shoppers a reason to return to their bricks and mortar stores…
BUILD PROPERTY INTO YOUR PORTFOLIO
As well as investing in retailers, buying into commercial property landlords is a way of getting exposure to changing retail trends.
Property analyst Richard Williams, of investment trust research specialist QuotedData, says logistics property owners are big winners from the way we now shop. These operate ‘big box’ warehouses up and down the country…
PUT THESE FUNDS IN YOUR SHOPPING BASKET
QuotedData’s Williams suggests real estate investment trust Urban Logistics, saying that its portfolio of warehouses will benefit from rental growth as a result of huge demand.
He says there are similar logistics issues in Europe where distribution networks are not as mature as in the UK. This, he believes, provides ‘huge’ growth potential for those investing in these distribution properties. Investment trusts set to benefit include European logistics landlords Tritax EuroBox and Aberdeen Standard European Logistics Income.
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