Shaftesbury collects less than half of owed rent since pandemic began
The real estate investment trust, Shaftesbury, has collected just 41 per cent of rent in the six months ending 30 September, it said.
Shaftesbury, which owns a 16-acre property portfolio in the heart of London’s West End, has also decided not to declare a final dividend for the year ending 30 September 2020 as a result.
It said it intends to “resume dividend payments as soon as it considers prudent”.
The group owns properties in Carnaby Street, Soho, Chinatown and Covent Garden.
For the last six months, 59 per cent of rent due has not been collected. Of that, 10 per cent of payments have been agreed to be deferred, 23 per cent have been waived, while 26 per cent remains outstanding.
Shaftesbury also said it had seen an increase in vacancies across its portfolio, although residential properties were mostly affected
Property vacancies jumped from 4.8 per cent at the end of March, to 9.7 per cent at the end of August, the group revealed.
It cited overseas visitors returning home and long-haul travel business disappearing as reasons for the increase. Adding that, enquiries for commercial space are also running at much lower levels than normal.
Brian Bickell, chief executive, added: “The course of the pandemic in the short and medium-term will continue to dictate the extent of restrictions imposed by the UK and other governments to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus, with implications for the global economy and the pace of recovery.
“As an international destination, local trading conditions in the West End will inevitably be affected by these macro uncertainties.”