Jersey Business, in association with the Parish of St. Helier have created a new report that tracks retail property vacancy rates in St. Helier, Jersey.
The data shows that the total St. Helier vacancy rate in Q3 2020 was 6.92%, down from 7.48% in Q2. This compares with the average UK vacancy rate of 13.30% up from 12.4% in Q2. The two key messages from these statistics are the low vacancy rate in St Helier compared to the UK and the fact that retail vacancy fell in Q3 despite the Lockdown period over the Summer. If we apply this to the prime retail pitches of King and Queen Street, the vacancy rate is very low at 4.88%.
The data also shows how long the properties have been vacant for and the highlight of this is that 49% of St. Helier retail properties have been vacant for less than 1 year.
“Bricks and mortar” retailing has been facing a very challenging period with the threat from on-line retailing being compounded by the fallout from the Covid-19 Pandemic but the retail market in St Helier is proving to be resilient. Anecdotally this was bourn out at the end of the first Lockdown period in June / July where the St Helier stores of many national retailers were the first to be re-opened and are now continuing to trade despite a second Lockdown on the Mainland.
A link to the reports, which will be updated quarterly can be found below:
https://www.jerseybusiness.je/running-a-business/retail/commercial-property-vacancy-rates/
If you would like to discuss anything mentioned above or have any general queries about the market, please call Nick Trower – 01534 716233.
