Rents for high street shops and retail parks are positively correlated with their respective energy consumption, according to research by Redevco.
The study of the property company鈥檚 pan-European portfolio of 400 retail properties focused on finding a link between energy consumption and leases rather than energy consumption and the properties themselves 鈥� with implications for sustainability management and portfolio construction.
Redevco鈥檚 high street assets that had high rents per square metre showed higher energy consumption. Those with a low rent per square metre had a low energy intensity.
For retail parks, Redevco found the opposite: high rent per square metre corresponded with low energy intensity.
Derk Welling, head of corporate responsibility, said the research could enable Redevco to uncover a new benchmark or investment market outperformance indicator that 鈥渃ould also prove to be good for the environment鈥�.
Redevco, which has a 鈧�6.5bn portfolio, said it began researching energy consumption and its link with real estate financial performance in 2008 鈥� but found little relationship. It launched a retailer sustainability benchmark last year.
Its latest findings, contained within its Responsible Real Estate Investment Report 2013/2014, could have implications for future investment performance, with sustainability becoming a component of asset management.
Welling said: 鈥淚 think we鈥檒l see a 鈥榝lip-over鈥� point where future rising energy unit prices will lead to an intense focus on this element of the sustainability and asset management mix.鈥�
