Future of high streets look bleak as the end of Covid-19 rent debt relief nears
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The future of UK high streets appears bleak today, as 71 per cent of high street businesses expect further job losses without government or landlord support, according to commercial restructuring specialists Cedar Dean.
As the end of the rent moratorium approaches, 80 per cent of high street tenants still face ‘unproductive’ discussions with their landlords.
Meanwhile, 60 per cent of shop fronts do not expect to survive six months after the rent debt relief ends, as 21 per cent feel they can only hold out another 12 months without support.
In a survey of corporate and small and medium enterprise (SME) operators, Cedar Dean found that out of 355 businesses across 10,000 locations, 93 per cent have already resorted to ‘substantial’ job losses, with 70 per cent expecting more.
“The evidence is clear that we still have a significant issue on rent arrears to deal with and government must intervene and give businesses certainty in the coming weeks to avoid a cliff edge in June where large numbers of jobs and businesses are at risk,” Cedar Dean CEO, David Abramson, said.
“I fear the SMEs are those who are at most risk and the government rent evidence survey is not being accessed by as many smaller businesses and I believe it is precisely these businesses who are at most risk in the coming weeks.”
A troubling 75 per cent of tenants surveyed will be looking at insolvency or restructuring if they fail to receive further support after the rent moratorium ends.
And although many businesses will struggle without continued support, 77 per cent are not confident the government will offer suitable rent options in time.
92 per cent of high street shop fronts favoured the Australian rent model and 33 per cent of tenants favoured a legally binding agreement between landlords and tenants to help navigate the rest of the year.