The Guardian: "Consumers are out there, insists Land Securities" (Oh, and there's a minor sentence about Hammerson)

Nice chair. 
Link to The Guardian

Steve McGuckin, UK managing director at the construction consultancy Turner & Townsend, and a former Land Securities director, said:

"As long as consumer confidence stays at such an uncertain level, there will be question marks over retailers' ability to keep paying their rent. Looking forward, we're unlikely to see rapid growth for either commercial or residential developers. It will be more of a case of steady as she goes, than full steam ahead."

"Brian Johnson, an insolvency partner at HW Fisher & Company chartered accountants, said:

"You would need to be extremely brave to consider investing in high street retail space at the moment. Investing in retail is a bet on the consumer, but does the consumer really look like a great bet? Over the next few months, there's every chance we will see even more major retailers collapse, bringing further despair.

"However, this downturn can't last for ever. In the next six months to a year, it could be that the high street starts to come back to life, and those who jumped in at the right time will make the most of this recovery. Naturally, certain towns and cities will fare better, or be more resilient than others, but the overall picture remains extremely challenging."