Expert Opinion - Roger Stanway on Valuations
04/03/2024
Expert opinion, with Roger Stanway, FRICS and RICS Registered Valuer at Holt Commercial
The valuations team at Holt Commercial remains very busy and this highlights the strength of activity in the market.
With new additions to the team, we have now got many, many years of experience in this area of commercial property and have virtually the whole of the Midlands covered.
With five RICS Registered Valuers within the business, it puts us in a very strong position because, it is fair to say, fewer and fewer professionals are choosing this route within the property sector, which is something the industry needs to address.
We work for a range of clients – from major banks, pension funds, large and SME companies and private individuals – and we get very positive feedback on the work we do because it requires a huge amount of knowledge and diligence in order to get it right.
By the nature of our business, the majority of properties we value are commercial in nature but we are also asked to look at blocks of flats, HMOs, student and buy-to-lets particularly when they are part of a wider portfolio.
Valuations are holding up strongly when it comes to industrial and warehousing. For offices, it depends very much on the quality because there is still a demand for the right kind of space – despite working from home patterns remaining in place – which maintains values.
Retail, as everyone knows, was changing even before Covid but the pandemic exacerbated the move to online.
This has, undoubtedly, had an effect on values for some retail but it does very much depend on the location and the size and type of unit.
In some towns and cities, you will see quite a few shorter-term lets taking place on retail where entrepreneurs are deciding to ‘give it a go’ but wanting to reduce the risk of taking out a longer lease.
We provide valuations for many lenders for secured lending purposes, regulated valuations for a large number of different pension funds (for SIPP and SSAS purposes) and valuations for various bodies for acquisition, sale and development purposes.
For firms we provide valuations for financial accounting and reporting purposes, valuations for internal accounting or asset management, and for partnership changes amongst other work.
For individuals we generally provide valuations for taxation planning (inheritance tax, capital gains tax and probate), valuations for divorce proceedings for court and individuals as well as for a range of other reasons.
We also provide valuations and advice for compulsory purchase and compensation purposes in order for our clients to be compensated fully and appropriately when they are compromised in this way.
Agreeing a new rent at a review or lease renewal can often be contentious and complicated and so we also provide rental valuations for landlords or tenants for this purpose as well as general landlord and tenant advice including negotiating the above to reach the best outcome for our clients.
Ultimately, it means that it is vitally important for us to stay on top of trends and use all of our knowledge and experience to be able to deliver the clear and accurate valuations that our clients need.
For more information on any type of property valuation work please contact the team on 024 7655 5180.