Shopping mall owner to cut rents by 30%

Hammerson, the owner of Birmingham’s Bullring shopping mall and 50% of Leicester’s Highcross shopping complex, has said it will cut rents by 30% for tenants in a bid to ensure occupancy.

The move comes after Hammerson’s chief executive Mark Bourgeois told the BBC that footfall had been higher since non-essential retail reopened last Monday (April 19) than it was when last June’s lockdown was lifted.

He said: “Typically, we’re resetting our rents to more affordable levels. “We reckon across the board and our business we’ll probably reduce rents from their peak by about 30% so we are really doing our bit as are all landlords to make sure we maintain vibrancy in these centres.”

Bourgeois added that he felt the vaccine roll-out had made shoppers feel safer.