Joanne Cummings featured in Law Society article about the UK Commercial Property Market

The cost of living crisis, combined with new government regulations, it is no wonder that the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) survey found the UK commercial property market is in the early stages of a downturn.

Real Estate Partner Joanne Cummings featured in a recent article in The Law Society’s Property in Practice publication which discussed the factors contributing to the decline.

Speaking about impact of the rise in energy costs, Joanne said:”As a means of protecting as many businesses as it can, the government has announced the energy bill relief scheme. This means SMEs are no longer forced to find their own solutions by either negotiating new providers or taking steps to reduce the amount of energy used. The plan is not, however, available to larger businesses, meaning some may collapse as a result of the lack of support” further adding:”This will lead to more insolvencies and vacant properties. The more commercial real estate is available, the lower the rents will become.”

Joanne also discusses the lack of information from the government relating to business rate relief.

Read the article here.