To help its bottom line, struggling UK retailer Tesco is planning to open up its parking lots and the space above its stores for new housing development.
As London struggles with a housing shortage, supermarket chain Tesco is offering up a solution to provide more housing, while also shoring up its own finances. Ashley Armstrong of The Telegraph reports that the retailer is planning to sell off air rights above its stores and in its parking lots for new housing development, a plan that analysts say could net the company £1.5 billion.
Val Bagnall of Apex Housing Group said supermarkets were talking about air rights as a way to “sweat their assets”. “It not only shifts the burden of roof maintenance costs on to a developer but could also be a significant income driver.
“There are also plenty of superstore car parks which sit empty when the shop is closed and could be better used. For Tesco, it could generate huge financial value,” Mr Bagnall added.
Armstrong reports that new developments in London at Tesco and other stores could create 180,000 housing units.
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