The property company said like-for-like net rental income rose 4.6 per cent in the year, comfortably ahead of its initial guidance of three per cent to four per cent.

EPRA occupancy climbed 80 basis points on a like-for-like basis to 98 per cent, its highest level in two decades, while estimated rental value growth accelerated to 6.4 per cent.

Landsec chief executive Mark Allan said the business had been actively repositioned for a higher inflation and higher interest rate environment.

“Over the past few years we have actively positioned Landsec for a higher inflation and higher interest rate world,” he said.

“We have focused our portfolio on the best quality locations where customer demand is highest, scaled back development, reduced our overhead costs and maintained our strong capital base.

“Occupancy is now up to a 20-year high and rents are growing at their fastest pace in nearly two decades.”

The group’s retail-led portfolio delivered like-for-like net rental income growth of 5.5 per cent, with occupancy up 100 basis points to 97.7 per cent, also its highest level in 20 years.

Retail lettings signed or in solicitors’ hands totalled £49m, 11 per cent above estimated rental value, while rental uplifts on relettings and renewals more than doubled to 15 per cent.

Landsec said retail sales across its destinations rose 6.3 per cent, significantly ahead of the UK average of 1.1 per cent, as its top locations continued to outperform.

Retail estimated rental values increased 5.8 per cent, marking the strongest growth in two decades, while values rose 4.6 per cent, driven by the strength of rental growth.

The group said it is targeting 4.5 per cent to 7 per cent compound annual income growth from its existing retail portfolio by 2030, supported by reversion, turnover income, commercialisation and smaller capex projects.

Landsec said it was also selectively progressing higher-return retail investment projects, with further acquisition opportunities expected to come to market.

Group revenue momentum was supported by stronger office performance, where like-for-like net rental income rose six per cent and occupancy hit a decade-high of 98.6 per cent.

EPRA earnings increased to £382m, up from £374m, while EPRA earnings per share rose 2.2 per cent to 51.4p.

Profit before tax fell to £346m from £393m, while net debt reduced to £4.23bn from £4.34bn.

The company sold £705m of lower-returning assets during the year, including £346m of offices, as it moved to strengthen its capital base and sharpen the focus of its portfolio.

Landsec said it expects like-for-like net rent to grow by around 3 per cent to 5 per cent in the 2027 financial year, with “no signs of slowdown” in customer demand.

It also said it expects EPRA earnings per share to remain stable in 2027 before returning to high single-digit percentage growth in 2028.

Allan said the business remained confident in its medium-term growth potential despite wider uncertainty.

“As a result of our actions, our strong top line growth will increasingly flow through to an acceleration in EPS growth in the near and medium term,” he said.

“Despite elevated geopolitical risks, we remain confident in the potential to deliver around 5 per cent CAGR in EPRA EPS between now and 2030.”

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After reporting full-year profit ahead of expectations, the DIY giant is now embarking on plans to grow to 300 stores nationwide. 

Wickes currently has 230 trading stores across the UK. 

It is aiming to open an additional four to five stores in 2026, and to refit or refresh 15 to 20 locations, before accelerating its rollout from 2028 onwards.

And despite having formidable rivals such as B&Q, Screwfix and Toolstation, head of property Kate Thompson insists that “detailed analysis” it has carried out suggests there is “headroom in the market” for it to hit this number.

What makes an ideal Wickes store?

Wickes sales are split between its three customer segments – local trade, design & installation and DIY retail.

In terms of its expansion plans, Thompson highlights that this aspect of the business very much plays into where Wickes’ decides to open stores.

“It’s very interesting when it comes to location strategy because that means that some of the opportunities that are available if we were purely retail are not actually appropriate in all instances for Wickes,” she says. 

Although she notes that Wickes performs well on “more balanced retail parks,” she says that it “loses some of its trade interest in the location” if they are “too soft or fashion oriented”.

“We have to be very selective and very considered in our approach to location planning to make sure that we can validly offer that balanced customer opportunity to deliver the most profitable store estate,” she adds.

Other locations Thompson highlights as being important focuses for new shops include “other roadside opportunities” and “some trade industrial locations” – as long as it can “deliver the balance” and it’s not so “trade oriented” that it removes some of its “retail DIY customer base”.

Accessibility and visibility is key

Additionally, Thompson highlights that “roadside prominence visibility” makes for an ideal Wickes store location. 

She explains: “We do like a bit of external space, our customers love outdoor working and outdoor project centres are really useful for us.”

“We have customers in and out of our stores from 6:30 in the morning through till 8pm, so accessibility and visibility is – certainly for the tradesmen to get in and out quite quickly before they start their working day – a big criteria for us.”

Despite all this, the exec points out that Wickes is looking to be “really agile” and “flexible” with its store requirements at the moment “in order to grow”.

An evolved store format

Wickes is a retailer with a huge breadth of products, with each of its stores carrying approximately 9,000 to 10,000 SKUs. 

Despite this, in its latest full year results the brand cited its ability to “operate successfully with full range in smaller footprint stores”.

The group average size of Wickes store is 27k sq ft, while its smaller footprint stores range from 15 to 20k sq ft.

It noted that its smaller stores had given it access to a greater number of potential target locations, and that access to smaller catchments had enabled its new ambition to reach 300 stores.

According to the company, a number of its existing shops are “trading successfully” with the same SKU range while having a smaller footprint. It also reported they were generating “approximately the same average store EBITDA of c. £0.8m”.

Thompson explains: “With our latest drive for new space, we have evolved our format quite considerably.

“In a lot of our new stores, you will see we’ve got a slightly smaller footprint, but we have designed them so that the showroom, for example, goes on a mezzanine level.

“For those customers that are in the store for quite a long period of time seeing our design consultants, it takes that busyness away from that consultation and the rest of the store at the ground floor can then operate in its normal fashion.”

She says that Wickes then designs its ground floors based upon “project led missions”.

“If you think about a customer coming to a store with a particular project in mind, we ideally plan that route around the store so that if they’re looking at paint for example, they can easily see the paint brushes and things like that.

“That’s how we lay the stores out, keeping some of the heavier aggregates and timber and things that the tradesmen are more frequently purchasing all together as well.”

She adds: “We also keep the outdoor project centers or garden centers distinct. So the ease of navigation and actually finding everything you need for your project is front of mind as we design the store.”

Physical stores remain “considerably important” in 2026

Like all retailers in 2026, ecommerce is a big factor for Wickes’ “digitally-led service-enabled” business. 

In March, Wickes unveiled a new retail media network called “Wickes Connected Retail Media,” underpinned by its investment in linking its digital arm with its 230 physical stores.

With 96 per cent of the company’s sales touching one of its physical stores and two-thirds being digitally enabled, it makes striking the right balance between physical stores and ecommerce more important than ever.

Thompson affirms that Wickes’ physical stores remain “considerably important” to the brand.

“I think a lot of our customers are still very much in the mindset that if you’re spending considerable sums of money on a kitchen or a bathroom, you want to touch and feel and actually get a grasp of exactly what it is that you’re investing in” she points out.

“So that’s a really important aspect of the physicality of our offer.”

In addition, she also highlights that its physical stores are important to its omnichannel offer.

“Our whole store estate acts as mini hubs for distribution, so we can offer delivery to all aspects of our customer base from our stores, either next day delivery or via the Wickes rapid rollout,” the exec explains.

“So that store network actually helps fulfill some of that omnichannel demand as well. So it’s ever important to our overall strategy to have a physical store estate.”

Ultimately, Thompson insists that Wickes is being “very considered and very strategic” in its approach to launching new stores.

And after an impressive set of annual results, the DIY giant seems to have a good chance of nailing its goals.

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In an update for the year ended 31 March 2026, ahead of its preliminary results on 20 May, the landlord said retail parks continued to outperform, with leasing in the second half signed 6.3 per cent ahead of previous passing rents.

Across the full year, new entrants to its parks helped drive leasing 3.4 per cent ahead of previous passing rents.

Chief executive Simon Carter said: “This has been an excellent year of leasing, reflecting our market-leading position in campuses and retail parks, where availability for high-quality space in the right locations is near record lows, and occupational fundamentals continue to strengthen, despite ongoing macroeconomic volatility.”

British Land said like-for-like net rental growth reached six per cent over the year. It now expects underlying profit of £294m and underlying EPS of 28.9p for FY26, up from 28.5p the year before, alongside an 8.1 per cent total accounting return.

The company also struck a bullish note on its campuses business, where demand from AI and innovation-led occupiers is helping push rental growth higher.

Reuters reported that British Land has lifted its annual earnings outlook as tech demand, including from firms such as Anthropic and OpenAI, supports its London campus portfolio.

Shares in the company rose in early trading after the update, as investors responded positively to the combination of retail park strength and improving office demand.

British Land said it was confident in its earnings growth outlook for FY27 and beyond.

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The moves mark further progress in the supermarket’s £1bn multi-year investment programme, as it continues to grow and modernise its physical presence alongside its digital offer.

Under the programme, Waitrose is planning to open a new Little Waitrose in Ascot and expand its long-standing relationship with Welcome Break via four additional motorway service locations. 

This will take the number of Waitrose at Welcome Break sites to 33 across the UK.

Alongside its new openings, the grocery giant is investing millions in upgrading 30 shops this year, with seven refurbishments completed in March, as it continues to modernise its estate.

Waitrose said its previously announced plans remained on track, including a new site in Chelmsford, a full-line supermarket, and a 360,000 sq ft distribution centre in Bristol, which will serve around 50 of the supermarket’s existing shops.

Waitrose head of physical estate Alun Jones said: “We are investing in our physical estate to bring the best of Waitrose to more customers in more places. 

“From new shops and franchise growth to refurbishments across our existing estate, these investments reflect our confidence in the role our shops continue to play in how customers want to shop with us.”

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The revamped shop, which launched on March 27, features a more premium, high-street inspired approach to design, combining upgraded materials, an improved layout and enhanced visual merchandising designed to elevate the in-store experience.

The new concept removes the central partitioning from the store, opening up the full width of the shop to improve product visibility and shopper flow.

Other new elements of the refurbished store include high-street inspired finishings, enhanced lighting, a new concept cash desk, an improved fitting room experience, expanded merchandising capabilities, increased mirror placement and a sustainable flooring solution.

Additionally, the store features updated mannequin collections, refined metalwork to improve sightlines, as well as integrated visual merchandising features to support cross-selling.

Retail director of Suit Direct owner Baird Group Amanda Argent said: “This reopening at Cheshire Oaks reflects our continued commitment to investing in high-quality retail destinations, which is evident in the upgraded shop fit, materials and overall in-store experience.

“As we continue to grow, we remain focused on opening stores in high-footfall shopping centres and key high street locations that help us build brand awareness and reach new customers.

“Through our experience, we know that a store size of around 1200–2000 square feet allows us to deliver the right product offer while driving optimum retail density.”

She added: “This latest investment forms part of a broader expansion pipeline, with recent openings including Liverpool in December, Watford launching on the 10th April, and further stores planned over the next 24 months.

“We’re also continuing to evolve our product offer, including the launch of our exclusive Ted Baker Endurance casual range this April, as we broaden beyond tailoring to meet changing customer demand.”

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The move might seem surprising in 2026, but actually, as we’ll explore, it’s a decision grounded in sound logic for a brand like The Works.

Ditching ecommerce may seem out of step with the general trends we’re seeing accelerate this year, with the rise of AI and agentic-centric shopping experiences, the steep rise of social commerce and a high projection of growth in general ecommerce before the end of the year.

Sales in the ecommerce market are projected to hit a staggering £2.91tn ($3.88tn) worldwide this year, according to statistics platform Statista. Meanwhile, the number of users in the market is expected to reach 4.1bn by 2030.

Generative AI is also becoming a major player in ecommerce. Earlier this month, data from Kantar found that a third of consumers would be willing to buy directly through ChatGPT and other generative AI platforms, rather than clicking through to a retailer’s website.

Of course, the high street continues to struggle amid this backdrop. During 2024, nearly 13,000 shops – roughly 37 per day – closed across the UK over the year.

Despite this, bricks-and-mortar is still by a vast margin the preferred way to shop for the majority of consumers, with 80 per cent of shopping still occurring in physical stores as of 2025.

The start of the year also saw various UK retailers investing in new stores. In January, real estate agency Knight Frank reported “the pendulum of investment” in retail was “swinging back towards physical stores,” and noted there were “growing signs to suggest that structural change in retail may finally be playing out”.

Additionally, CI&T’s recent ‘Retail Tech Reality Check’ report pushed back on the assumption that physical stores were fading into irrelevance.

Operating without an online arm is clearly a viable option for some retailers. Poundland is one brand that recently stopped its online sales, closing its loyalty app in September as it sought to simplify the business under its turnaround strategy.  

Meanwhile, discounters Aldi and Lidl continue to perform strongly in the UK without running ecommerce operations. The German grocers both recently reported their “best-ever” Christmases, as Lidl held onto its title as the UK’s fastest growing bricks-and-mortar supermarket. 

There are undoubtedly ways in which ecommerce offers experiences that bricks-and-mortar stores cannot, such as 24/7 global accessibility, customer reviews and unlimited shelf space. However, as GenAI and ecommerce gain more and more traction, physical stores may be able to leverage this and provide some welcome relief from the digital world to shoppers. 

In a highly crowded landscape, it’s vital that retailers invest in the right areas to do so.

Creating a seamless omnichannel experience

One way for physical stores to compete is by ensuring customers receive a seamless omnichannel experience. This model has shifted to become expected, rather than optional in recent years.

According to a report from McKinsey & Company in 2023, 75 per cent of consumers want a seamless omnichannel retail experience, while most consumers also use at least three channels for each of their purchase journeys. 

As Currys digital and omnichannel director Chris Holyland recently explained to Retail Gazette: “Seamless customer journeys demand that the brand is there with them. Right from that first touchpoint, we need to be there, helping, guiding, nurturing.”

For physical retailers, this means meeting shoppers on whatever channel they’re using, whether that be browsing social media, visiting your website, or shopping in-store.

Sephora is one retailer that delivers an impressive omnichannel retail experience. Customers are able to use the company’s app to scan items for reviews and tutorials in-store, while the brand also recently launched an app in ChatGPT under a US pilot.  Meanwhile, online shoppers can book beauty services in-stores.

Likewise, Nike uses its app to learn shoppers’ preferences and curate a newsfeed with relevant product launches and enables customers to reserve products in-store.

Embracing experiential retail

Despite the convenience of ecommerce, there are some scenarios where bricks-and-mortar will always have the upper hand, such as offering experiential retail to customers. Flagship stores offer a great opportunity for customers to see, touch and try products before buying.

Beauty and cosmetics retailers are ideal locations for this, with Lush reigning as a master of giving shoppers hands on experiences in-stores. On the other end of the spectrum, Apple is famous for providing shoppers with experiential retail in shops, as customers are able to try pricey products before buying.

Optimising number of stores

In 2026, physical stores need to earn their place and make enough bang for their buck. For retailers, this means optimising their store estate remains important as ever. 

According to a report by British Land in September, retail parks are the “winning format” for retailers due to their “combination of affordability, accessibility, and adaptability”.

The company noted that total occupational costs at retail parks were “highly competitive” compared to high streets and shopping centres, as affordability serves as a “major draw” for retailers.

Real estate giant CBRE also noted that rents would further increase in top locations, with retailers having to “confront intense competition for space on major Central London streets”.

So, there is certainly still appetite for physical stores in the UK, especially for a brand like The Works, which considers the experiential value of in-store its biggest asset. However, retailers must be ready to adapt to the changing landscape to avoid being eclipsed by ecommerce.

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The seven week transformation brings a host of new concepts and improvements to the 10,000 sq ft shop, which will celebrate its 17th anniversary in May. 

The store, which reopened today (5 March) at 8am, is set to provide customers with “an expanded range of high-quality produce and an enhanced shopping experience,” according to the retailer.

Highlights from the investment include upgraded service counters, a redesigned bakery offering, a “food lovers’ hub,” and an “inspirational” wine offer.

Additionally, the store features electronic shelf-edge labels and new refrigeration for improved energy efficiency.

Branch manager Katherine Batey said: “We have been part of the community in Haslemere for almost 17 years and on behalf of the entire team, I would like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding while the store has been closed. 

“We are delighted to welcome everyone back, and can’t wait to introduce them to the new features with even more great food to enjoy.”

The news comes as the grocery giant continues investing in its estate, including nationwide refurbishments and new openings. 

This forms part of a £1bn, multi-year programme designed to “offer the very best products, service and shops for customers”.

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Bosses are looking into the option of buying out landlords after building up £1.5bn in cash, as they remain confident that the retailer’s turnaround is progressing, the Telegraph reported. 

It remains unclear how many Waitrose stores the department store chain wants to buy back. However, a senior source said that the company was taking an “opportunistic” approach. 

The news comes after John Lewis scrapped plans to build 10,000 homes last week.

The business’s discussions over a buyback of its supermarkets will be seen as part of a larger spending drive at John Lewis, which is seeking to shift funds into areas which are driving its turnaround.

In an internal memo to workers, the group said that it had set aside up to £12m to enable higher pay rises for its head office staff with crucial skills, or who were considered as key talent in its turnaround efforts.

All salaried staff are anticipated to be given a minimum 2 per cent pay rise, although John Lewis said it would also let managers decide where the grant additional salary increases.

The retailer said that investment would go “where the need is greatest,” with its managers able to draw funds from its £12m pot.

Retail Gazette has contacted John Lewis for comment. 

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