To provide market knowledge on 1.2 million commercial properties requires data.  Lots of data.

The biggest problem in the UK is the lack of commercial property data, and is why Jones Lang LaSalle rates the UK on a par with Poland in terms of transaction data.

This is, in turn, a result of the fact that the Land Registry  doesn’t collect all UK rents or publish them and that landlords and their agents are coy with market information as it allows them to “obscure” the true value of property to allow them to “buy cheap and sell dear”.

So we have had to carry out our own research and carefully avoid any sources of data “sponsored” by landlords.

It also has meant we have had to draw on alternative sources information on rental value and the largest and most reliable by far is the National Non Domestic Rating List.

This provides evidence of the open market rental value of most UK commercial properties in 1988, 1993, 1998, 2003 and 2008,

carried out by the largest Surveying firm in England,

from the largest pool of rental information in England,

 often “agreed” between Surveyors

all on the same “basis”.

The problem is that this comprises 8 million pieces of data that require specialist Rating knowledge to convert it into “usable” rental market data. So we employed Chartered Surveyors specialising in rating to complete this task and that has taken nearly 2 years.

All of that data, though, is only useful if the properties that it relates to are identified into their correct markets.

We have initially identified 6023 markets.

Dividing up our millions of pieces of data dating back to 1988 and across our thousands of markets has not only enabled us to create the first “map” of UK commercial property costs but also enabled us to identify how and why property costs have moved up and down and therefore predict where they are likely to move in the future.

This ability to predict gives businesses, particularly when there are few actual transactions taking place, more of an idea of what they should expect to pay in rent.

That not only helps them with their negotiating position but also enables them to better predict their future property costs, and this also assists with business planning.