Companies downsize property holdings
Article Date: May 01 2009
Firms are shedding surplus space
Businesses across the UK have reduced the amount of space they occupy as the recession tightens its grip.
More than a quarter of companies (26 per cent) downsized in the last six months, while nine per cent expanded their property holdings, giving a balance of minus 17 per cent, according to the twice-yearly CBI/GVA Grimley Corporate Real Estate survey.
Over the next six months, the balance is minus 25 per cent, suggesting that cuts to output and headcount may be accelerated.
The steepest falls over the past six months were in the extraction, chemicals and utilities, construction and transport sectors, while the next six months will see sharp declines in finance, business services and manufacturing.
Retail offers a bright spot, with shops having increased their property holdings over the past six months and planning further expansion over the next six.
A slim majority of the 198 companies surveyed have space they do not use, a slight increase on last time. In some sectors more than four in five businesses have surplus property, for instance financial services (86 per cent) and extraction, chemicals and utilities (82 per cent).
