Retail Property - Windfalls for Stamp Duty-exempt tenants

Changes to the Stamp Duty Land Tax regime, which took effect on December 1, are likely to distort the retail property market, according to industry experts.

BDO Stoy Hayward tax partner Philip Spencer said: 'This new tax indicates a sea-change in the commercial sector and tenants can expect to be charged anything up to eight times as much as they currently pay, depending upon the length of their leases.'

However, certain retail locations could emerge as big winners. Chancellor Gordon Brown has identified 2,000 deprived neighbourhoods across the UK where transactions will be exempt from the new tax, including some of the country's most vibrant retail locations such as Meadowhall in Sheffield.

Meanwhile, Meadowhall landlord British Land has been given a£50 million windfall as a result of the change. In its preliminary results last week it announced that the value of Meadowhall had been marked up 3.4 per cent to£1.35 billion, partly because of the Stamp Duty relief.

Other locations, such as P&O Developments' Regent Quarter in London, are looking to take advantage of the change by emphasising the savings that retailers can make by relocating to an exempt zone.