Selected car dealerships can benefit from installing chargers on site as rental income increases.
That’s the view of Savills which said that retail parks, PFS, supermarkets, office blocks and car dealerships should be considering the benefits of establishing a public charging hub within their site if they can secure a grid connection.
The latest Spotlight from Savills “Electric Vehicle Charging – Uncovering the real estate opportunity”, found that some dealers can benefit.
“Returns are increasing and are often location dependent, but rents are currently tending to range between £2,000–£4,000 per charger per annum in rental income with index linked uplifts cap and collared at 1–3% for a 20–25 year term normally.
“This is a drastic improvement on earlier returns a couple of years ago, with evidence of some rents reaching £5,000 per charger per annum in strong locations.
“Over the term of the lease, landlords could expect a return between £900,000 and £1,250,000 for 8–15 car parking spaces (EV charging points generally take up four car parking spaces for every three chargers).”
Bill Bexson, head of Savills Automotive, said: “Landlords could be missing out on a huge opportunity to make additional revenue at little to no cost to themselves and help speed up the delivery of EV charging points across the UK.
“While rent per charger is heavily dependent on the quality of the site, landlords who can provide WiFi, food and toilet facilities on their sites, whether they are retail parks, petrol stations, supermarkets, industrial estates, office blocks, or even car dealerships should be considering establishing a public charging hub within their site, or at least charging infrastructure for staff and customers, if they can secure the necessary grid connection.
“There are numerous benefits for creating a charging hub which includes getting an upgraded site power capacity, the potential for the introduction of solar panels and power storage, increasing footfall to the site which will generate further revenues, and improving the ESG credentials of the property which will enhance value and marketability.”
The report cited evidence from Norway, a mature EV market estimated to be five years ahead of the UK market.
“Research and evidence suggest that on Norwegian retail park schemes with EV charging hubs footfall has increased by 200 visitors per day.
“Moreover, if landlord owns development land and are looking to build out a scheme, local authorities will now often require EV charging in order to obtain planning consent, and by introducing a CPO, developers can obtain this element at minimal cost.
“Finally, EV charging adds undoubted environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials to property with its contribution towards carbon zero enhancing marketability and value,” it said.