subject: Amazon and its ilk have rekindled interest in sheds [print this page] Amazon and its ilk have rekindled interest in sheds
Many commentators have written that we have been witnessing the greatest economic upheaval in living memory. They may be right, but in previous lifetimes there have been worse game-changing events and the world has adapted and adjusted.
When external forces create massive change, a polarisation effect is produced. Global warming has brought devastating floods to Australia in the past few months, across an area as large as France and Germany combined, and moved the jet stream sufficiently to push UK temperatures to a record low of below -20[degrees]C, bringing commerce to a standstill.
On an industry level, the financial crisis has brought polarisation to every facet of what we do. Prime product and locations are growing in value, while secondary and tertiary are still falling; good debt is highly sought after, while bad debt is shunned; speculative development is virtually non-existent, while prelets create fierce competition.
As property developers in the unglamorous sheds sector, our buildings merely provide the envelopes within which other businesses ply their trade, preferably with the efficiency and flexibility that allows them to prosper.
But the way the industry views our products is changing. More subtly, real equity is looking for deals with a proper risk-return metric.
When Amazon, the world's leading online retailer, takes a 1m sq ft prelet in Scotland, the property market should sit up and realise that this new-style 21st-century shopping centre is a shed. It just happens to be hidden behind a computer screen, with brilliant technology and logistics.
When three leading food retailers' internet arms are all looking at the same non-descript 1960s shed in Greater London, the future becomes clearer.
The game is changing and our unglamorous sheds are suddenly getting sexier. Greener shed specifications have already arrived and glossy brochures have gone online. The challenge now is who can best provide the building envelopes that the new generation of occupiers actually want, in the right places and on the most competitive terms.
Henry Angell-James is director at Craftongate
Source Citation
Angell-James, Henry. "Amazon and its ilk have rekindled interest in sheds."
