Natalie Nyathi
Business Reporter
Economical analysts have said that the subdivision of shops is good from an investor’s perspective as it is good for rental income that the real Estate owner would receive from several tenants over just having one.
Many shops in the Central Business District(CBD) have been sub-divided into portions of meters per shop such that it accommodates several more tenants.
Zim GBC News spoke to economic analysts concerning the issue and established that from an investor’s perspective it is good for rental income as they tend to charge more square meters as compared to when there is one tenant.
One of the economical analysts and businessman Morris Mpala said:
“People can no longer afford rentals and thus the informal business now needs smaller trading spaces”, he said.
“On the flip side it will be costly, cumbersome managing too many retailers under one roof as compared to one tenant. On some instances too many tenants tend to be more destructive to the building”.
The current economic environment does not encourage the operations of large businesses like departmental stores. This development has seen local entrepreneurs adapting to operating from cubicles.
Mpala added that the subdivision of the shop space might not be sustainable.
Zim GBC NEWS 2023