Hammerson collects less than half its rent even as restrictions ease
Hammerson has received less than half of rent due in the second quarter even as lockdown restrictions ease and footfall returns to pre-pandemic levels.
At group level just 40 per cent of Q2 rent has been received, with the UK collecting 48 per cent, France 23 per cent and Ireland 34 per cent. An aggregate 46 per cent of first half rent has been received.
The shopping centre operator said the UK’s re-opening had shown encouraging signs with 90 per cent of operators able to trade and footfall “competitive with pre-pandemic levels”.
Shares in Hammerson dipped 0.5 per cent on the news.
England eased coronavirus restrictions last Monday allowing non-essential retail to open for the first time in months. Footfall in shopping centres jumped nearly 340 per cent in the first few hours of trading, according to figures from Springboard.
However in France and Ireland the picture is starkly different. Tough restrictions remain ijn place in France with no indication of a roadmap on lifting restrictions. Hammerson said it does not expect operational performance to “materially improve” until the second half of the year.
In Ireland, the high proportion of essential retail in its centres means footfall has averaged 40 per cent even despite tight restrictions.
“Looking forward to when all occupiers are able to operate, we expect collection rates for both the current year and FY20 to continue to improve as restrictions are eased across territories,” Hammerson said.
Countrywide CFO joins Hammerson
The Birmingham Bullring operator also today announced the appointment of Himanshu Raja as its new chief financial officer and executive director.
He joins from Countrywide where he was most recently its finance boss until its sale to Connells last month. Raja succeeds James Lenton who gave notice of his resignation in January and will step down on 26 April.
“I am excited to be joining Hammerson during this period of unprecedented change in the sector and look forward to supporting Rita-Rose as she leads on the strategic review of the business to create value going forwards,” Raja said.