Crossrail: Exciting Impact on London’s Hospitality Industry

Crossrail, soon to be known as the ‘Elizabeth line’, is set for an operational launch of 2018.

Stretching over 60 miles from Reading and Heathrow in the west across to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east, the Elizabeth line will stop at 40 stations – 10 newly built and 30 newly upgraded – Crossrail will serve approximately 200 million people each year.

According to TFL, ‘the Elizabeth line will transform travel across the city, boosting the economy by billions of pounds and supporting thousands of new jobs and homes.’

If you have property around any of the stations of the Elizabeth line that could be attractive to a hospitality or leisure buyer, the next couple of years are a good time to dispose of your property. Here are some of the reasons why:

Soaring residential and commercial capital in central London

Even most conservative estimates suggest that Crossrail will help the commercial office values around Crossrail stations in central London to increase over the next decade, with an uplift of 10% in capital value above an already rising baseline projection.

This is due to the massive amounts of traffic that Crossrail will generate. For example, Farringdon station will become one of the busiest train stations in Britain. It could achieve demand of some 27 million passengers a year and, on average, some 102,000 passengers per day in 2026. This compares to current totals of 19 million annual passengers and 53,000 passengers per day.

Residential capital values are also projected to increase immediately around Crossrail stations in central London by 25% over the next decade, again above a rising baseline projection.

If this comes to fruition, we expect leisure and hospitality property values to increase in kind. If you have been considering the closure or relocation of one of your central London properties, the next 2-3 years would prove a sensible time consider disposal.

Catalyzing the value of zones 2 and 3

With a 39% increase in the turnover of the restaurant sector in the past 5 years, chains have started steady expansion into zones 2 and 3. Areas like Brixton, Dalston, Peckham and Chiswick are filling up with exciting new culinary villages, all hosting a range of permanent and rotating concepts.

This has been driven by restaurant chains and independent concepts’ desire to expand into areas with more affordable rents than those offered in central London. In addition, there is growing consumer demand in these areas from an audience that is increasingly professional and who have more disposable income.

In East London, “home values within a 10-minute walk of the […] Crossrail stations have jumped six per cent more this year than those in surrounding areas,” says Johnny Morris, research director at estate agents Hamptons International.

In turn, this will increase demand on the local leisure and hospitality industries and prices for commercial property will rise. This creates an exciting opportunity for added value on any zone 2-3 property entering the market. Furthermore, if you are looking to relocate from central London to slightly further afield, doing it now means you will minimize the increased rents you will need to pay in 1 or 2 years’ time, and ensure that you maximize the property’s sale potential in the future.

Engineering new culinary hotspots

Zone 2 is home to the world-renowned business district, Canary Wharf. The station is set to be one of the biggest of all of the 40 Crossrail stations. It will offer direct services to Heathrow, plus expansive retail and park areas, in an effort to drive tourism and a thriving community feel.

This naturally means an increase in investment into restaurants, bars and cafes, and will lead to rising commercial property prices as Canary Wharf – and other Crossrail hotspots – see increases in footfall.

According to our Head of Sales, Sally French, “there will be huge demand in areas like Canary Wharf – an already popular area for property investors of both the private and corporate variety.

“If you are looking to dispose of your property in Central London and head east, if you have the capital to invest, Canary Wharf presents the ideal opportunity.”

“With years of expertise helping commercial tenants find solutions to their lesser-performing units within their portfolios, we are confident in our ability to dispose of your property in a way that minimises disturbances to your organisation’s daily operations, and generates the maximum exit price.”

If you suspect you could benefit from selling your property, get in touch with our disposals agency today. Call 020 7935 2222 or email sales@rparchive.thisisthetreedev.com to find out how valuable your property may be.

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