Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has told landlords it will not pay rents until trading returns to normal, it has been reported.
The group, which owns Sports Direct, House of Fraser, Flannels, Game and Jack Wills and has stakes in a number of other retail chains, is said to have informed landlords in that it is withholding payments until it is “fully able to freely trade as a business”.
Frasers Group said it aims to go rent-free until trading “reaches a level” that it, and its landlords, had expected when agreeing rental terms, trade press site Estates Gazette has reported.
READ MORE: {}
Non essential stores reopened to the public in England on June 15, yet footfall has remained sluggish as people remain cautious of going into shops.
A new publication by BRC-ShopperTrak Footfall Monitor covering the week ending July 4 showed that overall footfall in the 海角视频 decreased 49.6% year-on-year, compared to a 53.4% year-on-year drop recorded the previous week.
Mike Ashley’s retail firm has also reportedly criticised its landlords for not making the “obvious provision” of suspending rental obligations when retailers were unable to trade during the coronavirus lockdown.
Frasers Group has also asked landlords to switch to monthly, rather than quarterly, rent payments to help the group better manage its cashflow.
The news comes four months after Frasers Group asked for 50% waivers on its rents as it seeks to reduce costs during the pandemic.
Mike Ashley
Most Read
It added: “A tenancy of a property which could not be used for trading was not the deal we made as tenant. The whole purpose was for us to be able to trade.”
Last week the ever-growing retail group doubled its stake in upmarket fashion chain Hugo Boss.
The group had previously bought around 3.5 million shares in the firm at a cost of around £97m in the middle of June. Now its stake has been increased to more than seven million shares, which are valued at £186m, giving Frasers a 10% stake in the German chain.