Just 13.8% of retail rent collected on June quarter day

Landlords received just 13.8% of rent owed by the UK retailers on this quarter’s rent date, compared with the 19.8% collected in March, according to new data from Re-Leased.

The cloud-based commercial property management platform said retail properties were the “worst performing group” compared with offices and the industrial sector, which saw landlords receive rents of 22.8% and 16.2% respectively.

Overall, just 18.2% of commercial rents in the UK were collected by landlords on 24 June.
The group said this contrasts to the 25.3% that was received on March quarter rent day, representing an overall decline of 28% over the three-month period.

Data for the June quarter also show that credit notes are “trending higher”, highlighting where tenants have already made agreements for rent free periods.

Tom Wallace, Re-Leased’s CEO, said: “For months, the industry has been speculating what the real impact of coronavirus will be on the UK’s property market. June quarter gives us the first real indicator of the severity of the crisis and quantifies the pressure both landlords and tenants are under.

“Looking at the level of rent that was collected on due date is sobering, but initial signs are not as catastrophic as some were forecasting. We expect rent collection to steadily increase over the coming weeks, but it is unlikely to reach the level that we saw in March.”

Re-Leased’s analysis was based on live rental collection data from over 10,000 commercial properties and 35,000 leases on its UK platform.