Furniture shop closing down after rent increases by £100,000

Phillip Logan, owner of furniture store Uno in South Belfast has decided to close his shop after facing a rent increase of £100,000.

The premises was originally leased for 10 years but Logan has now opted to exercise a five year break clause.

Logan has accredited the rise in rent to the arrival of chain stores on the road such as New Look and Maplin in large warehouse style buildings.

Logan has now announced that he plans to invest heavily in his other store, Alagram in Ballymena.

Glyn Roberts, chief executive of retail body, Retail NI told the Belfast Telegraph: “We have always been aware when our members are going through rent reviews that it can be a significant problem, especially when accompanied by higher rates.

We would always appeal to landlords to be realistic about what retailers can afford, particularly as they are already facing rising costs from wages and auto-enrolment of pensions.”

The increase comes at a time when UK retail stores are experiencing a plummet in sales in just about all sectors.