Billionaire retailers Sir Philip Green and Mike Ashley have asked landlords for rent cuts of up to 50% as they try to cut costs during the coronavirus outbreak. Green’s Arcadia retail empire and Ashley’s Sports Direct chain have joined a wave of retailers including H&M, New Look and Debenhams in asking landlords for rent holidays or cuts ahead of the quarterly payment day next week. But the group is understood to have approached landlords this week asking for further cuts, as first reported by Sky News. Debenhams wrote to landlords on Monday asking for five months rent free as it faced “unprecedented pressures” because of the pandemic. The Swedish fashion chain H&M has also written to landlords to ask for “relief on the rents and charges”, which one UK landlord said amounted to several months rent free.

Source: The Guardian March 19, 2020 18:45 UTC