Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Saturday, Jul 26, 2025

Hammerson: Shopping centre giant slashes rents in revival bid

Hammerson: Shopping centre giant slashes rents in revival bid

Hammerson, owner of Birmingham's Bullring, is to cut rents for its retail tenants by 30% as it aims to recover from a year of lockdowns.

The firm's UK boss Mark Bourgeois said it had been a "challenging" period when it had tried to "share the pain" with retailers forced to shut.

Non-essential shops in England and Wales reopened on Monday.

Hammerson said footfall had been stronger than the week after the first lockdown ended in June.

Over the past year, Hammerson, which also owns London's Brent Cross, collected about 75% of rents owed by its tenants and agreed abatements with those shops who needed it.

However, it expects to continue helping the retailers in its shopping centres which also include The Oracle site in Reading and the Victoria Quarter in Leeds.

"Typically, we're resetting our rents to more affordable levels," Mr Bourgeois told the BBC's Today programme.

"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."

People returned to shops on Monday as non-essential retailers in England reopened

Mr Bourgeois said that the bounce back in footfall in the past week had been more pronounced than equivalent period last June.

He said that the Covid-19 vaccine roll-out has made shoppers "feel safer", adding it was likely there was "more cash in people's pockets and they are feeling perhaps more confident to go and spend".

Record loss


The Bank of England estimates that UK households have amassed £125bn in pent-up savings during the pandemic.

But Mr Bourgeois also said: "People just love to get out. You can only do so much online shopping [people want to] get out and feel the products and brands in real life."

Over its last financial year, for the 12 months to 31 December, Hammerson reported a record £1.7bn loss.

However, even before the coronavirus pandemic forced the closure of large parts of the economy, retailers and their landlords were struggling as more consumers chose to shop online.

Last June, Intu, the heavily-indebted owned of Manchester's Trafford Centre, was forced to file for administration.

Mr Bourgeois said: "Retail has always been about winners and losers and that's been really accelerated during Covid."

He said Hammerson was now working to "repurpose" space left by the likes of department store Debenhams, which closed all its high street stores after falling into administration and selling the brand to online fashion firm Boohoo.

"We have a planning application in Leicester for instance where we are preparing to demolish a Debenhams store and put 300 flats there," said Mr Bourgeois. "So we're bringing homes right into the heart of the city."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Germany Seeks Taliban Deal to Deport Afghan Migrants
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Qatar Airways Clears Backlog of Passengers Following Missile Threats
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
Mass exodus in Tehran as millions try to flee following Trump’s evacuation order
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
×