Hammerson has collected less than half of the rent due for the first quarter, as its retail tenants continue to grapple with the UK’s coronavirus restrictions.
The property giant said this morning that renewed lockdown measures meant that only a quarter of its occupiers were open, either offering essential retail, click-and-collect or takeaway and delivery services.
Around 41% of rent due has been collected for the first quarter of 2021 – about £19.8m – in another stark reminder of how hard the lockdown is hitting retailers.
It comes after the landlord collected only 66% of rent for the final quarter of last year, during which non-essential retailers were forced to close over the vital Christmas trading period.
Hammerson collected a total of 75% of all rent due over the course of 2020. This amounted to collecting £195.4m for the year, with £43.7m outstanding and £21.4m waived.
Other major UK landlords have made similar announcements over the first weeks of 2021, with British Land saying last week that it had collected only 46% of rents for the December quarter.
Hammerson did, however, announce that it had fully repaid the revolving credit facilities brought in on 30 June last year, as well as £75m maturing in May this year, issued as part of its coronavirus financing measures.
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