We should applaud intu for standing up to Arcadia

Editor’s comment: Kudos to intu’s new boss Matthew Roberts this week for standing up to Philip Green and the CVA process. It may ultimately have had little effect with the CVA being approved, but a hat has to be doffed to anyone who stands their ground and by their principles. Initially, intu wasn’t standing alone against the CVA. Landlords including Aberdeen Standard, Landsec and the Crown Estate had all opposed the controversial measure but by Wednesday this week had backed down. They will have their reasons for doing so but for intu the unfairness of the CVA on its full rent-paying tenants was too much to take. Landlords have long grumbled about the unfairness of the CVA process. A CVA always gets through because, despite property owners often being the most financially affected by the measure, they have the most insignificant vote. Suppliers, they claim, get the deciding vote. So unfair. Yes, it is unfair but where is the action to change that? Who is coming up with a process that is fair? Who is lobbying for a change? Like the next person, I love a good old grumble. It is therapeutic, entertaining even. And, as a journalist, makes for a great soundbite. But as all of our parents will have told us at some point, grumbling isn’t going to get you anywhere. Change requires action. And while we may be seeing some legal challenges launched against individual uses of the measure, surely there needs to be a more widespread reform of the CVA and that requires a collaborative effort. Revo chief executive Ed Cooke voiced concerns over the practice and his note that “with the government unwilling or unable to intervene, it seems we are reliant on the courts to provide some much-needed clarity on how this legislation should work in the future” and British Property Federation chief executive Melanie Leech’s statement that CVAs are “never easy” for property owners but that “ensuring a sustainable future for the UK retail sector is equally critical to both the property and retail sectors” are all very well and good, but so what? What is being done about it? I certainly hope there are more robust conversations about reform going on behind the scenes than is apparent in public. There must be a place for industry bodies that represent those retail owners to deliver more than just words. If landlords really want to challenge the CVA process they have to unite. Stand up. Not be afraid of saying no. So too, perhaps, should those retailers that aren’t getting to have their rents slashed – those full rent-paying retailers that intu was standing up for. It really isn’t fair that a retailer such as Arcadia gets to utilise a CVA to have its rents reduced, while other hard-working retailers don’t. The whole of the retail market is being affected by changes to the consumer environment. Some retailers are just smarter, more in tune with their customers, perhaps even working harder than those numerous brands that have implemented a CVA. Why should they be penalised for succeeding? I really hope that intu continues to make a stand. I hope that Roberts in his new role is asking his fellow landlords why they didn’t keep pushing against Arcadia’s CVA and is pushing for his industry bodies to support in more than just words. I’m sure many of us believed that this CVA (like so many that have come before it) was a fait accompli, but it really shouldn’t have to be, should it? To send feedback, e-mail samantha.mcclary@egi.co.uk or tweet @samanthamcclary or @estatesgazette