A global financial panic is adding to the stresses on UK commercial property. Credit dries up particularly quickly in the real estate sector. That possible side effect of bank collapses in the US and Switzerland comes when rising rates and shaky office occupancy are already problems.
Going to the office has become a part-time activity for many full-time workers. Visits to the office have fallen 30 per cent in the UK since January 2020, according to property specialists Greenstreet.
Demand for commercial real estate space has dwindled just as interest rates have surged. Big investors such as JPMorgan Asset Management have warned it may be the next sector that aggressive monetary tightening will destabilise.