According to The Institute of Grocery Distribution, the definition of a convenience store, is that it must be less than 3,000 sq ft in size, it must also not be subject to restricted opening hours, under the Sunday Trading Act and it should stock at least seven types of core categories of food and drink products.

The convenience store sector in the UK is huge. The Institute of Grocery Distribution reports that UK consumers spend over £37 billion a year and that there are approximately 46,000 stores in the country. These are made up of national groups, such as The Co-operative Group, The Southern Co-operative, Tesco Express, Sainsbury’s Local, McColls, Spar and Londis. However the sector also comprises of a substantial number of independent traders, which make up 38% of the sector. 

As demonstrated above, the convenience retail property market is an important part of the economy, which we believe is here to stay. Hence the reason why we have invested in a number of local convenience parades such as our established neighbourhood retail parade in London, SE25.