Landsec collects only a third of December retail rent, British Land collects 46% for Q4

  • Landsec collects only a third of December retail rent
  • UK landlord Landsec has revealed it has only managed to collect just over a third of the rent owed by retailers during the month of December
  • It had received £5m of the £14m expected from its regional retailers – equal to just 36%
  • It also reported that it had received £2m of £7m expected from its central London businesses
  • Overall, taking into account rent collected from its other tenants, Landsec said it had collected 65% of the rent due buoyed by the support from its offices
  • Fellow retail landlord British Land said it managed to collect less than half of the rent due from its retail tenants for the latest quarter
  • British Land revealed that it had received 46% of expected rent due for the period of 25 December to 7 January totalling £42m
  • Retail rent collection levels have continued to increase, with 72% of September rent collected, 73% of June rent and 49% of March rent
  • March collection being lower due to 27% of deferrals provided

UK landlords Landsec and British Land are struggling to collect rent from their retail tenants due to ongoing lockdown restrictions. Landsec collected just £5m out of the expected £14m from regional retailers (36%) and £2m out of £7m from central London businesses. Overall, Landsec collected 65% of rent from all tenants, with offices performing better than retail. British Land collected 46% for the period of 25 December to 7 January, totaling £42m. Retail rent collection levels have increased since September (72%) and June (73%), but still lag behind pre-pandemic levels.

Factuality Level: 8
Factuality Justification: The article provides accurate information about the rent collections by Landsec and British Land during the specified periods. It presents relevant data and compares the performance across different quarters. However, it could have included more context on the impact of lockdown restrictions on businesses and the measures taken by these landlords to support their tenants.
Noise Level: 5
Noise Justification: The article provides relevant information about the impact of lockdown restrictions on retail businesses and their ability to pay rent, but it lacks in-depth analysis or actionable insights. It mainly reports on the financial situation without exploring long-term trends or possibilities.
Financial Relevance: Yes
Financial Markets Impacted: UK retail and commercial real estate sector
Financial Rating Justification: The article discusses the impact of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions on rent collection by UK landlords Landsec and British Land, affecting their financial performance and potentially influencing the performance of related stocks and investment decisions in the real estate market.
Presence Of Extreme Event: No
Nature Of Extreme Event: No
Impact Rating Of The Extreme Event: Minor
Extreme Rating Justification: There is no extreme event mentioned in the text. The article discusses the impact of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions on retail businesses and their ability to pay rent, but it does not qualify as an extreme event.

Reported publicly: www.retailsector.co.uk