On Wednesday, President Trump confirmed that the UK will be hit by 10% tariffs on exports to the US (25% on cars). The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) has calculated that the tariffs will reduce UK GDP to 0.6% this year and to near zero in 2026.

Office for National Statistics reported that retail sales volumes increased by 1.0% in February, well above the consensus for a 0.4% contraction, but slightly lower than the 1.4% January rise.

Landsec has exchanged on the sale of Lakeside Retail Park, Thurrock to GTAM Apex Lakeside Bidco or £114m, reflecting an income yield of 7%.

CBRE reports that UK BTR investment activity in Q1 2025 reached £735.3m, up almost 40% on Q1 2024.

Knight Frank reports on the strong growth of the UK's single-family housing investment market with a record £1.8bn invested in 2024, and the total invested since 2020 at £4.4bn.

Supermarket investment transactions for Q1 2025 totalled just £138m from five transactions – the lowest figure since 2008.

Barings has secured £96.7m from Homes England, the Greater Manchester Pension Fund and the West Yorkshire Pension Fund to deliver 618 new homes near Leeds city centre.

Nuveen, a TIAA company is to launch its fifth real estate debt fund with the aim of raising up to £1bn in equity.

WHSmith has agreed to sell its UK 480-unit high street business to Modella Capital for £76m and will be rebranded as TG Jones.

IKEA has acquired former Homebase units in Harlow, Chester, and Norwich to roll out a small-format store concept.

The UK’s carbon emissions from commercial buildings were stable in 2024, while emissions from all buildings rose by 2%, according to provisional data from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. This marks a reversal, likely due to increased gas use, and falls far short of the reductions needed to stay on track for net-zero by 2050.

Mark Charlton – Real Estate Research Consultant at Waypoint