Train companies seek government aid for station retail tenants

Retailers such as WHSmith and Greggs, which operate a large number of stores in travel hubs, have been asked to pay full rent in many UK stations – including those directly or indirectly operated by the government.   

Revenues from travel retail have been decimated since lockdown was implemented in March, forcing people to stop travelling. 

Some stores in popular commuter stations such as London Victoria and London Bridge have started to reopen, but footfall remains much lower than pre-coronavirus levels.  

According to the Financial Times, the Rail Delivery Group, which represents passenger and freight rail companies, has sent proposals to the Department for Transport as it seeks an industry-wide solution. 

The plans would include changes to rents and the introduction of payment plans to help retailers manage their cash flows. The proposals also call for longer-term leases and say rents should be linked to passenger demand. 

Shopping centre owners Hammerson and L&G are moving to a similar model of turnover-based rents following calls from a number of retailers for their property costs to be more closely linked to footfall and sales.

Last week, the British Retail Consortium wrote to rail minister Chris Heaton-Harris to ask why train stations, including those operated by the Department for Transport, had not been providing help to struggling retailers. 

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said their “inflexibility runs counter to both the letter and the spirit of the code of practice for commercial property”.

Firms that control the UK’s train stations say they have been unable to offer help for their retail tenants since the government took control of the finances of franchised train-operating companies in March under emergency measures agreements. 

But a DfT spokesman said train-operating companies remained landlords and had the ability to strike deals over rent relief with tenants. 

The DfT said: “We have reminded operators that they are obliged to consider any requests for rent deferral or relief, should do so on a case-by-case basis and encouraged them to develop bespoke future lease terms for tenants at stations.”

Network Rail, which controls 20 stations, and Transport for London have waived or discounted rents during lockdown. But the remaining 2,500 stations across the UK are managed by train-operating companies. Around half of those are staffed stations containing retail stores.