Mark Allan, Chief Executive of Landsec, wrote last week that three or four of Landsec’s shopping centres could make “great raw material for mixed-use urban neighbourhoods”. He stated that “cities going forward will need to be much more integrated” and that certain retail spaces can be knocked down and pivoted towards mixed-use regeneration. This follows recent comments for React News from Mark Harvey at RivingtonHark that underperforming retail assets can reposition towards new uses such as residential and/or leisure and social.

Allan said that Landsec’s portfolio had around 65% London offices, 25% retail and 10% other assets at the start of his tenure, and that the aim is to “shift that to more like 55% London office and have the remainder split evenly between retail and mixed-use neighbourhoods”.

Additionally, Allan revealed that the government’s September 2022 mini-budget nearly halted the sale of 21 Moorfields, one of London’s biggest office sales in 2022. The tower will be the new headquarters in the capital for Deutsche Bank and was bought by a pair of Australian investors for around £809m, the initial aim for Landsec was around £900m.

The retail sector continues to be the focus for repurposing, repositioning and urban regeneration and this looks set to be the case for the foreseeable future.