​Sales grow 0.4% in April across Hammerson’s UK portfolio

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
May 31, 2016

Hammerson’s UK shopping centres delivered an overall 0.4% rise in sales in April, outperforming the value of UK retail sales for the same month, which was down 0.9% on a like-for-like basis according to the BRC.

Hammerson’s figure was bosted by the ‘sound, picture & technology’ category, which was up 27.7% during April as the latest tech gadgets were launched in stores, such as the Apple iPad Pro and the iPhone 5SE.

Technology experienced the greatest like-for-like increase in the past nine months.

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The ‘Travel and Leisure’ category also boomed in April with a 26.7% jump, as shoppers prepared for the annual Great British summer and splashed out on long-haul holidays. Destinations such as the Maldives and Barbados topped the list for this year’s get-aways.

Also showing a positive performance was the ‘Homewares’ category, which saw a 20.7% rise in sales in April.

Commenting on the performance, Hammerson CEO David Atkins said: “Perhaps unperturbed by the uncertainty around the looming Brexit debate, it is encouraging to see customers still treating themselves to high value items such as the latest smart News Release technology and long haul and luxury travel. With additional highly anticipated tech launches this autumn, we expect to a similar bounce in this category later in the year, as we see a trend towards consumers prioritising big-ticket tech over wardrobe updates.”

Hammerson owns, manages and develops 21 shopping centres and 20 retail parks across Europe. Its UK property portfolio includes shopping centres such as Bullring in Birmingham, Brent Cross in London and WestQuay in Southampton.