Commercial property investors shuddered this month when a trio of shopping centre landlords – Intu, British Land and Land Securities – confirmed the gloom in UK high streets.
Intu warned that its rental income could fall by between 4% and 6% this year, while British Land reported a loss of £319m. Landsec said its assets declined by more than half a billion pounds to £13.8bn.
The drop in fortunes is being blamed on the number of shops entering company voluntary arrangements, a legal compromise that allows occupiers on the verge of insolvency to slash rental payments or void their lease.
