Occupational market fundamentals remain stable despite domestic and global economic headwinds, which see shopping centre investment pause for thought
May 2025 saw a further drop in interest rates; the Bank of England (BoE) reduced the base rate by 25 bps to 4.25% following the last cut in February of this year. This is the fourth time the base rate has been cut since its peak in August 2024. The latest cut is hoped to encourage banks to continue lowering their fixed mortgage rates accordingly, with cheaper mortgages having the potential to boost housing market activity and wider consumer spending.
The latest cut will, of course, do no harm to the chance of continued improvements in inflation. Most recently, February saw inflation begin to fall for the first time since last summer to 2.8%, whilst CPI rose by 2.6% in the 12 months to March, continuing the downward trend as petrol and energy prices improved.
However, the BoE warned any further cuts were likely to be gradual. Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ October Budget set out measures to increase government borrowing, raise the national living wage as well as elevate employer National Insurance contributions – a move that could trigger further inflation fluctuations since taking effect in April, depending on how much of these costs are passed on to the consumer.
The focus turns to whether the introduction of import taxes on goods coming into America at the start of April will throw a spanner in the works and scupper the UK’s gradually improving economic outlook
Sam Arrowsmith, Director, Commercial Research
Nevertheless, longer-term disinflationary trends do remain intact when you consider that, at its peak, CPI reached 11.1% back in October 2022. What is perhaps more comforting is the UK core inflation rate has also followed a similar trajectory. In February, it dropped to 3.5%, compared to 3.7% the previous month and 4.5% in the same month last year. Core inflation doesn’t include food or energy prices because they tend to be very volatile, so can be a better indication of longer-term trends, suggesting further improvements may well be on the horizon.
Furthermore, average wages have continued to outpace inflation, with pay increasing for both public and private sector workers. Pay, after taking into account the pace of price rises, rose 3.4% between October and December compared with the same period a year ago, according to the ONS. The result is more disposable income in some consumers’ pockets, a welcome step forward for the UK retail and leisure market.
However, we shouldn’t pop the champagne cork just yet. These figures followed warnings from businesses that they were planning to cut workforces and raise prices ahead of the higher employment costs, which began in April this year. Employers’ concerns that paying more in National Insurance, along with minimum wages rising and business rates relief being reduced, have not gone away and are likely to hit pay rises going forward.
Moreover, in the latest escalation of the global trade war, the focus turns to whether the introduction of import taxes on goods coming into America at the start of April will throw a spanner in the works and scupper the UK’s gradually improving economic outlook.
To tariff or not to tariff? That is the question
After weeks of speculation, on 2 April, the White House announced significant changes to US trade policy, including broad-based tariffs on imported goods. US President Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs were at the more severe end of expectations. The starting point was a 10% universal import tariff applied to all trading partners, irrespective of whether they operate a deficit or surplus in goods trade with the US. On top of this, ‘reciprocal’ tariffs were applied to selected economies.
These ‘reciprocal’ tariffs are not actually reciprocal, however, in that they do not mirror existing bilateral trade barriers but are instead calculated based on the size of the underlying trade deficit. As a consequence, many emerging economies in Asia, which export cheap manufactured goods to the US but import very little in return, are the hardest hit.
However, only a week after the announcement, we saw a de-escalation of sorts. On 11 April, all tariffs (excluding China) were put on a 90-day pause, instead authorising a universal “lowered reciprocal tariff of 10%” as negotiations continue.
Despite this, and at the same time, the US government increased tariffs on goods from China to 125%, with a deepening tit-for-tat exchange ongoing between the two nations following China’s earlier retaliation – suggesting it would impose tariffs of 84% on US imports.
Arguably, it was the bond market and a sell-off in US Treasuries that seem to have been the ultimate trigger to this (temporary) turnaround – usually a safe haven in times of economic stress in that they are uncorrelated with risk assets, highly liquid, and backed by the US Government.
.jpg)
How will US policy on tariffs impact the UK consumer?
The UK has appeared to have come off lightly compared to other economies, but has still been hit with the blanket 10% tariff on nearly all of its goods being brought into the US, and, as a result, much uncertainty remains over the potential impact on British consumers.
Currently, with the flow of news and the speed of policy changes, any assessment on potential consumer impact must be caveated with a date and time of recording. However, there are a number of significant potential impacts.
Firstly, interest rates and mortgage rates may fall further. Until recently, Oxford Economics predicted three further cuts to the base rate in 2025, whilst some economists and financial markets had predicted that the BoE would cut them twice this year to c.4%. However, those forecasts have changed, with the BoE now expected to make four 0.25 percentage point cuts by this time next year, taking borrowing costs to around 3.5%.
The Bank is indeed facing a balancing act. On the one hand, its core remit is to keep the inflation rate at 2%; however, the recent tariffs could increase prices and fuel inflation as those costs are passed on to the consumer, which means interest rates could stay higher for longer.
Conversely, if business confidence is negatively impacted by the uncertainty surrounding the tariffs, resulting in a steep fall in orders, the Bank might feel compelled to act to boost sentiment, which is why we might see steeper rate cuts than initially expected. Central banks cut interest rates in response to concerns of an economic downturn in the hope that cheaper borrowing will encourage more spending.
In fact, even before an additional interest cut has materialised, a growing number of UK lenders are cutting mortgage rates. According to the financial data company Moneyfacts, the average two-year fixed mortgage rate ticked down to 5.3%. The average five-year fix edged lower to 5.15%.
A second impact of the proposed tariffs may well be the variation in the price of everyday goods
Sam Arrowsmith, Director, Commercial Research
Coventry Building Society and Barclays became the largest mortgage providers to offer mortgages at below 4%. Coventry Building Society trimmed its two-year fixed-rate mortgages to below 4%, whilst Barclays is reducing the rate on certain fixed-term deals to 3.99%, joining a number of lenders who made similar moves.
Other lenders are expected to follow, with brokers expecting further falls on the horizon as the big six lenders – Halifax, Nationwide, HSBC, Santander, Lloyds, and Natwest – continue to adopt a wait-and-see approach.
A second impact of the proposed tariffs may well be the variation in the price of everyday goods. Tariffs will be paid for by the businesses that import goods into the US, so the initial impact of price rises will be on US consumers as businesses that import goods into America are likely to pass on the extra costs to their customers.
However, consumers in the UK could subsequently be affected by the measures if, for example, the value of the dollar strengthens as some economists have predicted, meaning import costs could rise for UK firms importing goods. This creates a potential snowball effect. Higher prices in the UK could indeed prompt employees to demand higher wages, which would further raise costs for businesses.
Contrariwise, some economists have suggested prices could also initially fall as businesses that usually send their goods to the US may instead send them to countries, such as the UK, which don’t have such steep tariffs, potentially leading to a flood of cheaper goods in the UK. British retailers are already expressing concerns about a possible influx of Chinese products onto UK and European online marketplaces, including Shein and Amazon, in an attempt to ‘dump’ excess goods originally intended for the US market.
Another consequence may include a dwindling demand for UK products from the US due to the extra charges importers face. This could hit company profits and, ultimately, lead to job cuts unless British firms find new customers outside the American market.
Despite long-term improvements, consumer confidence continues to fluctuate month on month as economic uncertainty prevails
Retailers warning of higher prices, exporters warning of cancelled orders, and businesses warning of job cuts will undoubtedly negatively impact consumer sentiment and potentially lead to a tightening of purse strings for many UK consumers. At best, consumer confidence is likely to fluctuate as the BoE tinkers with interest rates in an attempt to counter any economic downturn and encourage more spending.
On a rolling 12-month basis (designed to smooth out the seasonal fluctuations and observe the overall trend in your data), consumer confidence has greatly improved versus the same period last year. The yellow line in Figure 1 tracks its gradual improvement since the cost of living crisis, with the index for March at -18.1, well above the long-term average of -24.4.
However, month-on-month consumer confidence is undoubtedly unstable. Apprehension surrounding the impact the new government’s first Budget would have on consumer finances back in September last year seemed relatively short-lived, with the months following seeing improvements in consumer optimism. The GfK’s overall consumer confidence index fell to -17.0 in December from -21.0 in October.
However, the index subsequently worsened to -22.0 for January before improving again in February (-20.0) and March (-19.0), clearly highlighting the unstable nature of the UK consumer’s attitude toward the current economy. The latest recording for April saw the inevitable, with the index swinging back to negative growth (-23.0) following the uncertainty the US tariffs have placed on the global economy.
In fact, after April’s cost increases and with Trump’s tariffs threatening, all GfK’s consumer confidence measures were down in comparison to last month’s announcement. Perhaps most importantly, consumer perception of their own personal financial situation over the next 12 months swung into negative territory (-3.0), suggesting that the consumer is now slightly more pessimistic than optimistic about their future finances than was the case a month ago.
Whether positivity returns remains to be seen with how the impacts of the tariffs play out. The index for general economic outlook fell significantly from -29.0 in March to -37.0 in April, the lowest it has reached since February 2023. Importantly for the UK high street is how much of operators increasing costs will be passed on to the consumer; at the moment, it looks fairly certain the impact will likely see consumer confidence levels fall further.
Vacancy continues to fall across the sector, whilst footfall improves across both high streets and shopping centres, but rental growth remains broadly flat as operators adjust to Budgetary cost increases
From an occupational perspective, Q1 2025 has seen a continuation of the trends we explored in the previous edition of this Spotlight, characterised by an increasing robustness across high streets and shopping centres. The key trends are summarised below:
- Vacancy continues to fall. The fact that there has been no material difference in shopping centre (16.8%) and high street (13.7%) vacancy shows there are as many operators looking to take space as discard it. Vacancy across both asset classes actually fell in Q1 2025 by 0.4% and 0.1%, respectively. Although there is still some way to go before vacancy is at a level that breathes widespread investor confidence in the strength of the occupational market, the fact both it and consumer footfall remain stable, coupled with plenty of evidence of operators looking for new space, can be considered a positive result for the sector and is a clear indication of how durable it currently is as an asset class.
- High street insolvency activity remains low. There have indeed been a few high-profile insolvencies of late, but the operators involved have their portfolios predominantly based in the out-of-town market. Carpetright and Homebase both went into administration in 2024, whilst more recently, Hobbycraft entered into a CVA with a view to closing nine stores and seeking rent reductions on a further 18. With voids edging downwards, it is clear that high street insolvency has been minimal. High street fashion chain Quiz has shut 23 “loss-making or unsustainable” stores after falling into administration in early 2025, whilst Select Fashion entered its second administration following one in 2019; the group shut 35 shops in mid-March, leaving 48 which have been sold to Essence Fashion Limited. According to the Centre for Retail Research, there have only been 283 stores affected by insolvency across the UK since the start of the year, trending well below the annual average of the last 20 years (c.2,900 stores).
- Footfall shows positive growth. Meanwhile, average weekly footfall for Q1 2025 saw a marked improvement compared to the first three months of the previous year. Shopping centres averaged growth of 1.8% whilst high streets achieved growth of 1.3% across the quarter. This performance, however marginal, highlights the sector’s increasing resilience in the face of Budgetary cost implications and global economic uncertainty.
- Savills rental evidence shows further decline, but it is marginal despite cost increases. Rents fell on the deals done in Q1 2025 – for the second quarter running, but did so by a trickle rather than a flood. Headline rents fell by 3.1%, with net effective rents falling by 2.6%. This is undoubtedly a response to the government’s Budget announcement in October last year, with retailers taking a moment to understand the impact it is likely to have on their overall costs. Not to mention the uncertainty that surrounds the US tariffs and how this will impact consumer spend. However, despite these economic pressures, the negative rental growth has been minimal, with rents remaining broadly flat versus Q1 of 2024. This suggests there is still competitive tension in the market, and as vacancy continues to fall, operators looking to expand will need to continue to be competitive, particularly in well-occupied locations to which Savills book of new transactions is undoubtedly skewed toward. Our view is that rental growth will return in 2025, albeit gradually, as operators in expansion mode get to grips with and learn how to offset their increasing costs, to reduce the squeeze on their profit margins.
- Further rental divergence between prime assets and weaker locations is likely, especially those exposed to higher vacancy as operators continue to reposition their portfolios or look more strategically at growth opportunities. The polarisation that is evident in the investment market when it comes to pricing between prime assets and secondary locations is rooted in similar differences in occupational performance, particularly void rate and rental tone.
- Retailers experienced their best quarter since summer 2021. The ONS reported a 1.8% rise in retail sales (excluding fuel) for the first quarter versus Q4 2024, marking the third consecutive monthly increase. This is also a 2.0% increase on the same quarter of the previous year. Clothing and footwear sales, a high street staple, was the subsector with the strongest growth, up 3.7% in March versus the previous month and 1.5% on average for the quarter versus the last three months of 2024.
- Are positive sales figures a ‘false dawn’ as retailer outlook remains mixed? Inflationary pressures and upcoming tax increases could indeed dampen consumer confidence, whilst uncertainties surrounding tariffs and global trade could pose risks to future spending. As a result, we have seen mixed performance and trading outlook from occupiers. Next has had an extremely impressive first quarter, with full-price sales up 11.4%, outperforming its forecast of a 6.5% rise. The retailer benefited from the warm weather in the UK in March and April. As this boost in sales may have pulled sales forward from Next’s Q2, the retailer has not raised its sales guidance for the rest of the year, but it did increase its full-year guidance for profit before tax by £14m to £1,080m. JD Sports, however, delivered a muted performance again in its full-year results (up to the beginning of February), with UK sales falling 2.5% and 0.7% on a like-for-like and organic basis, respectively. With consumer confidence blighted by economic uncertainty and many continuing to abstain from purchasing non-essential items like sportswear, the operator is braced for another challenging year as its reliance on US brands, such as Nike, leads to further uncertainty over the potential impact of US tariffs. Primark, on the other hand, has seen its UK and Ireland revenue fall by 4% for the 24 weeks ending 1 March 2025. Whereas its affordable prices have previously made it more appealing during tough economic times, consumers are increasingly switching to retailers with superior value for money perceptions, such as the grocers Next and M&S. However, despite many low-income consumers cutting back on non-essential apparel purchases, the increase to the minimum wage at the beginning of April, it is hoped, will boost their propensity to spend in future months, hence, Primark is targeting low single-digit sales growth over the remainder of this financial year.
.jpg)
Topshop, the former high-street fashion giant, has recently returned to physical retailing for the first time in four years with a one-day pop-up event on 10 May in collaboration with Defected Records at the house music label’s basement space in Shoreditch, East London. Called ‘Topshop & Topman In The House’, the pop-up offered early access to the brand’s new Talamanca collection and limited-edition Topshop x Defected T-shirts.
The so-called ‘activation’ is the brand’s first in-person shop since its remaining stores shut permanently during the pandemic lockdown in 2021 when it was bought by ASOS. More significantly, this event is said to be a precursor to a more significant high street return this summer through new wholesale partnerships with brick-and-mortar retailers.
Given the prominence of Arcadia across the UK when the group went into administration in 2020, the failure introduced hundreds of vacant units to our shopping areas almost overnight. Arcadia’s fall from grace unfortunately aligned with the pandemic, which further complicated the reletting of units.
With ASOS recently selling its 75% stake in the iconic British brand, creating a joint venture with Heartland, and the subsequent potential return to high streets, it raised the question, in a hypothetical scenario in which Topshop wanted to reinstate its former units, how many would they be able to re-absorb, and what has happened to those that have since been occupied?
Our analysis only covers units that remain broadly in the same configuration; developments and subdivisions of units are more difficult to track. In 2019, there were just under 200 units occupied by Topshop in the UK (many of these would have also stocked Topman), and a further c.3.5m of occupied floorspace within the wider Arcadia portfolio. Since then, 18% of ex-Topshop units have been repurposed or modified in some way. This analysis focuses on the remaining stock.
New occupiers
Across former Topshop units, 58% of the portfolio has been relet. Fashion units account for just over half of these, including brands such as JD Sports, Next and Flannels, which have taken units in places such Cambridge, Guildford and Derby. JD Sports has actually absorbed more units across the wider Arcadia estate than any other brand in the UK, with a total of 16 units. This includes stores both in-town and out-of-town.
Comparison Goods are the second highest sector currently occupying historic Topshop units at 31%. Occupiers such as Mountain Warehouse, Søstrene Grene and Waterstones have moved into stores, seizing the opportunity to take above-average-sized units in prominent locations. Those remaining include a blend of convenience, food & beverage, health & beauty, and service-based retailers.
Ongoing vacancy
Of the 2019 stock, 42% of Topshop’s former estate remains vacant. This equates to nearly 0.5 million sq ft of vacant floorspace across the UK retail landscape. Within this vacant supply, almost a third of Topshop’s former estate has been relet to another occupier only to become vacant again, whilst just over two-thirds have remained consistently vacant. Situations where occupiers have opened and since closed are likely to indicate broader issues surrounding the quality of the location.
The average unit size of those that have remained consistently vacant is 5,500 sq ft, considerably higher than the average size of a retail unit. The generally larger size of units (particularly in the prime areas) catalyses high rent, service charges and business rates, which poses issues in reletting despite generally good locations.
The ghosts of other retailer administrations have similarly worsened the task of reletting units that sit alongside vacant department stores, as footfall has been depleted and forthcoming occupiers are reluctant to locate in what increasingly becomes the more tertiary pitch. Additionally, assets that have undergone ownership changes may have extended the vacancy period due to uncertainty surrounding the future of the wider scheme.
What next?
At present, just over 70 units are currently vacant that were once inhabited by Topshop in 2019. Although this may seem high, we should take learnings from success stories of new occupiers, such as Zara’s entrance into London’s One New Change shopping centre in 2021. The store was one of the brand’s first to feature online integration features, including store mode within the Zara app, fitting room bookings, and an automated pick-up point. Zara’s subsequent opening of its new flagship store in the ex-Topshop in Trinity Leeds in 2024 similarly demonstrates purposeful uses of vacant stock.
The picture is moving in a positive direction, with a growing number of units currently under offer, which should reduce the vacancy rate of the ex-Topshop portfolio in 2025.
Shopping centre investment
Fortunes can change very quickly in investment markets, and that certainly seems to have been the case in Q1 2025 for shopping centres. The first three months of this year saw the lowest transaction volumes since we began keeping records, with c.£20m transacted across only two assets.
Shopping centre investment volumes made a significant improvement in 2024, reaching £2.0bn by year-end, the highest they had reached since 2017 and significantly above the average annual capital value of £1.3bn (47 deals) achieved over the last eight years. 2024’s transactions were also well in advance of the previous year, where volumes reached only £1.2bn by comparison.
This momentum looked set to continue, with the scale of some of the assets coming to market in 2025 being the driver behind our prediction that volumes would reach at least £2.5bn by year-end. However, the US policy on tariffs was not on the horizon at that point and has since caused a definite pause in investment activity, as the larger-scale transactions we expected to see, key to the volume of success last year, have been delayed.
As a result, we have to assume our prediction of £2.5bn of shopping centre trade in 2025 is under pressure; however, all is not lost just yet. The lack of activity is not about a deterioration in demand from purchasers but more to do with a lack of available product. The appetite for prime remains, but the £100m+ deals are rare beasts – many investors would like to deploy capital in the top 30 UK shopping centres, but they are difficult to get hold of, with many owners choosing to hold.
Why is this? Are vendors not selling because they are worried about the market and the strains US policy on tariffs will put on occupiers and consumers alike, or is it actually because they believe they can get a better reception for their assets if they wait as interest rates improve?
As we explored in the consumer outlook section of the Spotlight, tariffs are disinflationary as the BoE is likely to cut interest rates further in response to concerns of an economic downturn in the hope that cheaper borrowing will encourage more spending. Currently, UK inflation sits at 2.6%, approaching the BoE 2.0% target, whilst interest rates were cut by a further 25 bps in February to 4.5%.
The scale of some of the assets coming to market this year is why Savills predict volumes to reach at least £2.5bn in 2025
Sam Arrowsmith, Director, Commercial Research
Interest rate falls will further improve liquidity in the debt market. The concern from purchasers around securing finance has now eroded, and the debt markets are certainly back for the right asset and the right sponsor. The level of loan-to-value (LTV) offered by the banks has improved, whilst at the same time, the cost of debt has reduced. The European real estate debt market has faced challenges in recent years due to reduced activity and reduced asset values as a result of higher interest rates. However, 2024 saw renewed bank activity, leading to a competitive debt market across all asset classes.
What is comforting for the shopping centre investment market is the continued interest in the sub-£25m deals that form the bread and butter of the shopping centre investment market. The purchase of Beaumont Leys Shopping Centre in Leicester by Evolve Estates, as well as Market Gates Shopping Centre in Great Yarmouth, achieved an average net initial yield of 11.60% between them. The average total annual capital value of schemes in this space over the last eight years has been pretty consistent, averaging £356m, giving the market some confidence that this is likely to continue in 2025.
With very few, if any, US private equity buyers in this market, the momentum we saw at the end of last year certainly feels like it could return after the 90-day pause on tariffs when some certainty returns and their true impact is fully understood. Last year saw a crescendo of activity as the year drew to a close, but that followed a very slow start to the year. The optimistic observer would suggest this is likely to repeat itself in 2025, especially as the occupational market is seemingly holding steady and pricing has remained stable.
Last year’s positive performance was replicated in yield adjustments. Despite rises in 20-year gilt costs, each of the shopping centre subsectors witnessed a stabilisation in pricing, with the exception of the very best schemes, where we saw improvements: Savills super prime equivalent yield, for example, has moved in by 50 bps from the start of 2024, currently sitting at 7.75%.
Our prediction was that these trends were expected to continue over the course of the next 12 months, with prime and super prime yields expected to harden further. This may take longer if larger-scale asset delivery is delayed until H2 and ultimately doesn’t transact until next year; however, we haven’t seen a softening of yields in spite of the pause for thought from vendors and the current uncertain global economic headwinds. In fact, in early April, we brought in our Town Centre Dominant yield by 25 bps on the back of our sale of Festival Place in Basingstoke to MDSR Investments, reflective of its dominance in Basingstoke town centre.
High street shop investment
Despite a lack of trade in Q1 2025, as a house, Savills still feels positive about high street shops as an asset class, with investment interest still on track to improve further over the coming months.
In the last iteration of this Spotlight, we suggested the sector was likely to see a steady churn of institutionally owned assets coming to the market over the next 12 months rather than a flood. That certainly seems to be the case so far.
According to MSCI’s RCA data on urban retail and high street investment volumes, Q1 saw transactions reach £523.6m, 24.9% down on the quarterly average over the last two decades, but a 20.0% increase on the previous quarter and a 39.2% increase on the same quarter the previous year.
This growth is set to continue as the rationale for buying remains consistent despite the domestic and global economic headwinds. The income return is arguably one of the most generous available for any core hold, and we expect turnover to steadily increase over the next 12 months, in line with the improving investor sentiment towards high street retail.
This positive sentiment may seem out of kilter with both shopping centre and retail warehouse investment markets that have seen a definite pause in transactional activity as purchasers take stock in the aftermath of ‘Trumponomics’. However, high street shop investment hasn’t seen the same hesitation. The sector has seen some new entrants over the last 12 months, culminating in a broad pool of private investors, reflective of the small and granular nature of the assets on offer.
Savills is anticipating modest capital value improvement over the year, mostly seen in a widening of assets meeting the definition of prime, where its current benchmark equivalent yield is 6.5%
Sam Arrowsmith, Director, Commercial Research
Lot sizes are much bigger in the other retail investment sectors, so a pause is perhaps understandable; however, for high street shops, we are undoubtedly beginning to see an increase in the number of £10–15m parades and blocks coming to the market, and this has brought this asset class onto a wider group of investors’ radars.
The fact that the sector has experienced a ‘steady churn’ of sales is perhaps a consequence of this increased interest, with fewer institutional sales of high street retail as the income return benefits make some more inclined to hold. To that end, transactional volumes are steady as a result of limited stock rather than a reaction to the wider economy. Institutions have been the sector’s primary vendors over the last decade, and assets that are made available are likely to continue to come from them, particularly with the decline of defined benefit pension funds, under which many smaller lot sizes are still located.
Why does this positivity remain despite the headwinds? From an occupational standpoint, the sector feels much more robust, with a stabilisation in vacancy rates and some examples of rental growth, particularly strong for the best assets. For the majority of trades Savills has been exposed to, income returns on rack-rented properties are increasingly appealing, making debt costs accretive and favourably impacting the yield that can be achieved.
It, therefore, feels like there is some pent-up demand from a number of private and high-net-worth purchasers as we approach the summer, who maintain their long-term view in this income return-focused investment sector. Savills is anticipating modest capital value improvement over the year, mostly seen in a widening of assets meeting the definition of prime, where its current benchmark equivalent yield is 6.5%. Our message to investors would be to hold your nerve. The occupational market remains robust and is steadily continuing to improve, and income returns are generous on the right quality assets, so not a lot has changed that would deter any potential investor from buying in a market that is showing good value.