Landlords bank on retail recovery despite falling rent collections

As of June 29, shopping centre owner Hammerson said it had received just 16% of the third-quarter rents that were due on June 24. Up to the same date, the landlord said it had collected 73% of all rents due for the first half of the year.

To help with its coronavirus recovery, Hammerson said it had received approval for issuance of up to £300m of new financing under the government’s Covid-19 corporate financing facility, which would bolster its liquidity to £1.5bn. 

The Bullring and Brent Cross owner said it had also drawn down a further £300m from its existing borrowing facilities. 

Hammerson said it was confident “collection rates will continue to improve materially in all regions as agreements are progressed with brands”. 

British Land reported better third-quarter rent collections. It said that as of June 26, it had received 36% of its retail rents. 

It also reported that footfall across English centres for the week beginning June 14 was 64% the level achieved the previous year, while like-for-like sales were 91% of that of the same week last year. 

As of yesterday, British Land said 894 stores across its shopping centres had reopened, 64% of the total. The landlord also flagged its conviction that open-air retail parks will perform an “important role in retailers’ reopening strategies”. 

British Land said it had waived £3m of rent for smaller operators in the second quarter of the year, adding to the £2m in waived in the first quarter. 

The share prices for both landlords have risen off the back of the separate updates, having fallen last week with the news that competitor Intu had fallen into administration after it failed to reach agreements with its lenders over its debts.