Rent collection rises for Landsec as retail rebounds

Landsec has collected 85% of the £96m rent due for the latest quarter. The rate is a marked improvement on the 81% of rent collected for the previous quarter. The improvement in fortunes was largely led by a rise in the rent paid by retailers. Regional retail rent collection was up 10% to 83%. Collections for the remainder of its central London portfolio were up 9% to 80%. Office rent collection, worth £57m, remained static from the previous quarter with 95% collected. However, collection rates for its “subscale sectors”, which Landsec announced last year it would sell off, are still low, at just 58%, despite rising from last quarter’s 43%. It added that it had collected just half the £4m rent due from its “urban opportunities”. Landsec said that of the £13m of rent outstanding, £5m was due from tenants who had “withheld payment pending documentation of agreed concessions”. To send feedback, e-mail piers.wehner@eg.co.uk or tweet @PiersWehner or @EGPropertyNews