Hammerson to end rent support for retailers as footfall returns

Hammerson has warned retailers that it will not grant any future concessions as it looks to recover the millions lost in rent during the pandemic.

The landlord lost around £50m in rent deferrals, cuts and write-offs over the past 18 months as it supported its struggling tenants.

Hammerson, which owns Cabot Circus in Bristol and the Bullring in Birmingham, said that sales in its UK shopping centres are now in line with 2019 and only 4% below that in France, while footfall figures stand at around 15% lower than two years ago.

For this quarter, the landlord has received around 70% of rents due, while 94% of rents that should have been paid in 2020 and 78% of that in 2021 have also been collected.

Hammerson said: “We remain focused on collecting arrears. We do not anticipate granting future concessions and all avenues to collect rents due are being pursued.”