WHSmith has called for landlords to review its high street rental agreements following tough trading conditions.
The stationery chain is reportedly asking landlords to switch from receiving rent payments in advance to receiving them in arrears, according to The Sunday Times.
WHSmith already pays rent in arrears on several of its high streets stores and secured an average rent cut of 35% on leases renewed last year according to the report.
However, due to ongoing tough trading conditions on the high street, the retailer is asking landlords for the switch-up in rent payments to help ease cashflow.
The likes of Primark and H&M have demanded lower rents from landlords to fall in line with several struggling competitors’ CVA terms, which include rent cuts to help prevent retailers from going bust.
WHSmith operates 590 UK stores as well as a 600-strong store network outside of the UK, as well as eight stores in the US across the MRG, WHSmith and InMotion fascias.
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