Shopping centre put up for auction for £1 as retail sector looks to a challenging 2019
Worries on the high street were compounded this morning as a Scottish shopping centre was put up for sale for a solitary pound.
The Postings Shopping Centre in Fife boasts a pharmacy, a bakery and a cafe over 80,618 sq ft.
Read more: Retail sales fall as 'suffocating' Brexit uncertainty envelopes UK high streets
However it has struggled to fill its space, with 14 of its 21 shop units currently vacant. Four of the eight tenants, including Fife Migrants Forum, do not pay any rent.
Around 11 miles north of Edinburgh, it caters to the town of Kirkcaldy, with 49,000 residents and is just off the pedestrianised high street where it competes with the likes of Debenhams, Waterstones, WH Smith and Bonmarche.
The property is next to Kirkcaldy bus station and not far from the town’s train station.
Shops in the centre currently pay £152,005 in rent to the current owners every year, but the running costs outstrips the income.
The retail sector is coming off its worst Christmas in a decade despite some golden eggs over the period.
Read more: Retail sector suffers worst Christmas in a decade as sales stagnate
Sales in the sector showed flat growth in December for the first time since April according to figures from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG released last week.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “The worst December sales performance in ten years means a challenging start to 2019 for retailers, with business rates set to rise once again this year, and the threat of a no-deal Brexit looming ever larger.”