Insider Media Limited

One of the East Midlands leading property experts has told Insider that the next 12 months will be “tough” for the industry. However, despite difficult times ahead, Peter Gadsby, chairman of the Ark Capital Group, insisted that “there are deals to be done”.

He said: “I expect 2011 to be another tough year as the market continues to adjust to the ‘new world order’. The lack of debt finance continues to depress both confidence and our ability to press ahead with speculative development.

“Unlike many of our competitors whose development programmes have stalled because of the banks’ current lending positions, we have been able to continue our development programme thanks to the tough decisions that we were prepared to take two years ago when the first signs of crisis emerged.”

Gadsby said that his company had generated cash for reinvestment and was “prepared to diversify our interests in order to capitalise on the development opportunities that are available”.

He said that he anticipated “plenty of activity” in the food retail sector in 2011.

“The appetite of the ‘Big Four’ food operators remains healthy; unearthing the opportunities, together with a positive planning outcome, however, takes both time and expertise.

“The changing formats now being rolled-out by the retailers will keep the market on its toes and ensure an increased take-up, and with it, valuable new job creation in 2011,” he said.