There has been a strong revival in occupier and investor activity in the major UK regional office markets recently, reversing the trend seen since the Global Financial Crisis and confounding the current slowdown seen in regional retail markets. The question is what is driving this increased demand and how sustainable is it?
As volatility has returned to financial markets, driven by less accommodative central bank policy and fears over the path of inflation, an overarching question is when is the current cycle likely to end?
As the current challenges in the department store sector are increasing, the question is whether the department store model, in its current form, is sustainable and relevant in the current retail market. Is its decline inevitable, or can it possibly be reversed? What could be done to address the many challenges it faces and make it fit for purpose in the modern age of retailing?
As investors, we are often asked what long-term trends we are trying to gain exposure to across our multi-asset portfolios and, at Canada Life Investments, a long-term approach is central to what we do. However, there are subtleties to this that are often not talked about.
Although the economic outlook for the UK in 2018 is mixed, we believe the consensus is too pessimistic on growth. The global economy is now firing on all cylinders – which will benefit the international-facing UK market – and we believe the risks to growth, inflation and interest rates are all to the upside, in the UK as well as globally.
