Rent collection increases as 98% of C&R shops open

Capital & Regional has seen a marked increase in the collection of rents across its portfolio in the last two months, with 73% of all rents due from the 25 March quarter date now paid. The retail park operator said this was an improvement of 17% since 15 October, when just 56% of rents had been collected. The landlord said it had also completed 37 new lettings in the period to 30 November at a combined premium to previous rents of 7.3% but at a 4% discount to ERV. A further 20 deals are currently in legals. C&R has three Debenhams stores in its portfolio and just one unit let to Arcadia. It is currently exploring options for the Debenhams units, which if left vacant would cost the business £2.1m in annual service charge and empty rates fees. The Arcadia unit cost the business less than £100,000. Chief executive Lawrence Hutchings said: “2020 has been a year like no other with Covid-19 presenting significant challenges to everyday life and business. While some form of government restrictions are likely to continue to be a feature for a period of time it has been encouraging to see the swift return of nearly all our retailers and services to trading following the end of the second national lockdown on 2 December 2020 with 98% of units back open, reinforcing the importance of our community centres. “The retail sector continues to evolve at pace with Covid-19 having accelerated pre-existing structural changes. We believe we are well placed given our low exposure to the categories most impacted. Demand for retailers to rapidly return to trade, coupled with a similar response from our consumers who have been eager to get back to their local shops, provide evidence of the continuing relevance of physical retail and the vital role that our community focused centres play in local essential infrastructure.” The group has £79.3m of available cash in the business and said it had signed waivers on all income covenants for the remaining of the year. Discussions with lenders on agreement to cover forthcoming quarters are continuing.   To send feedback, e-mail samantha.mcclary@egi.co.uk or tweet @samanthamcclary or @estatesgazette