UK REIT Shaftesbury said on Thursday that it is aiming to collect 50% of rents due from April to September 2020 ‘over time’, indicating at least half of its rents may not be collected at all.
The firm, which owns a 15.2-acre portfolio in the heart of London's West End, said in its 2020 half-year result announcement that it is in discussions with around 800 commercial tenants to agree tailored solutions on rents and service charges. It expects ‘continuing evolution in structure of leases’ and said it plans to move permanently to monthly rents in advance for all commercial tenants from October 2020.
‘Although our business performed well during the first four months of the period, the growing impact of the measures to address the pandemic are having a material impact on normal patterns of life and commerce, both for our occupiers and on the near-term prospects for our business and financial performance,’ commented CEO Brian Bickell.
Last week, the company saw the entry of a new majority shareholder after Capital & Counties Properties agreed to buy a 26.3% stake from Hong Kong billionaire property magnate Samuel Tak Lee for £436 mln (€490 mln).
The investment reflected a price of 540 pence per Shaftesbury share representing a discount of 13.9% to the closing Shaftesbury share price on 29 May 2020.
The price paid represents a 45.0% discount versus Shaftesbury’s last reported EPRA NAV per share of 982 pence as at 30 September 2019.
