But the survey found confidence strongest among retailers with 19% of retailers expecting to increase space during 2002. As a consequence, BH&S forecasts that the sector will be the best-performing in 2002, with rental growth of around around 2% in shopping centres over the forthcoming year.
But the firm has raised a question mark over City of London offices, warning that major relocations by occupiers like Barclays Bank and Allen & Overy will release a significant amount of City space onto the market during 2003. A subdued stock market and the collapse of merger& acquisition activity is also dampening demand in the City, putting rental levels under threat. For the UK overall BH&S expects office rents to fall by about 2% throughout 2002 before picking up again slightly by around 1% in 2003.
Christopher Tabor, Head of the Corporate Property team at BH&S said 'We predict that the next 6-8 months is the best time for the corporate occupier to acquire space while available stock increases and landlords are prepared to do softer deals.'
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