Searching for a retail space to rent in London in post-covid era

[edrdos101]

Hello! As a new business owner and a complete newbie in commercial real estate, it's difficult to navigate the London market especially in the post-covid era. I would really appreciate any advise other experienced developers/buyers may give.

It appears, very few properties are shown on better known websites (like Zoopla and Righmove) although since the lockdown it is pretty obvious that many business closed and their premises hence become unoccupied. I heard that some asset management companies, keep their stock away from public to ensure that property prices don’t crash but perhaps there’s a more original way of looking for a retail space than just searching the most popular websites?

 

[PostBrexitInvestor]

If you have a particular area of London in mind why not walk around the area? You would very quickly see which businesses have closed down and are perhaps starting to fall into disrepair. If these properties are not advertised for sale then the seller might be willing to talk to you, perhaps looking for a quick sale?

 

[Mikey20]

For the upmarket areas there are no distress sale as such. For the not so business areas, you can find commercial properties at a bargain. But then what will you be doing with a commercial property located in not so commercial / upscale area ?