Where next when investing in high street retail? Knight Frank’s High Street Investment Ranking of 200 locations across the UK might give you some idea, a summary of which is below.

The high street is not dead
According to Knight Frank, the high street is not dead but it is undergoing far-reaching structural change. Town centres must evolve to stay relevant but the role of the high street varies dramatically by location.

The report highlights the strengths of four retail investment sectors: Historic/tourist centres, affluent market towns, major cities, and “under the radar” centres. While post-referendum investment demand for high street stock has been strong, thanks to small lot sizes and high liquidity, (with prime high street yields now at 20-year lows of 4%), there are still opportunities for investors, the firm says.

Ranking methodology
Overall, the model used by Knight Frank is driven by 20 distinct data feeds, which are split into six categories. These categories, including some of the data feeds, are as follows: Catchment (population and affluence), Expenditure (per capita and tourism spend), Retail/leisure supply (cinema and dining etc.), Occupational Market (demand and rental growth), Investment Market (investor demand), and Competition (from other centres and from local online spend).