60 Seconds. Slack Money, the hunt for yield & over-building:

Interest rates last rose over 10yrs ago (on 5 July 2007). Slack money got us through the worst of the aftermath of the Credit Crunch but where’s the road back?

Written by Mark Brumby

Getting the balance right:

• We didn’t want the financial world to end in 2008
• Hence, we cheered when the Bank of England (and the Fed, ECB etc.) turned on the money tap
• But here we are, ten years later, wondering what’s ‘normal’

Bond yields down, any old investment beats its (non-risk adjusted) cost of capital:

• Capital, which has pronounced, lemming-like tendencies, has sought yield.
• Spreadsheets have shown returns of 15%, 20% or whatever against a marginal cost of capital, almost always debt, of perhaps 3%, 4% or so
• Sure, these were leasehold assets but hey, a return’s a return
• Until it isn’t, of course. But the music’s playing, you gotta dance…
• Why not max out on new-builds, accept lower returns etc.?
• Now we have a coffee shop on every corner and retail parks, which should have supported 4-6 F&B outlets, are saddled with 12, 15 or 20

Maybe we were living in a bubble:

• Well, back up a bit. This is not a world without risk.
• Consumers could over-borrow, could see falling real wages & lose confidence
• They may be squeezed by inflation, may hear talk of possible r-r-r-r-rate increases
• Leaving some operators (see earlier ‘Nought to Sixty’ piece), naked when the tide goes out
• Over-expanded players could stumble and collapse at the first hint of tougher times
• Margin-driven operators, perhaps lazy & entitled, may struggle with the new reality
• But relevant operators selling the right product to the right customers at the right price from the right units, will still prosper
• Sound easy? Well, yes, but try it yourself sometime…