Thomas Cook failure leaves retail property giants with empty shops
More pressure was piled on some of Britain’s retail landlords on Tuesday, with Intu among the firms which are left with empty Thomas Cook shops.
The collapse of 178-year-old tour operator Thomas Cook this week means around 550 of its UK shops will close, leaving property owners with vacant space and a sudden fall in rental income.
Of the listed landlords affected, shopping centres owner Intu looks to have the largest exposure according to an analysis by the Evening Standard. It lets 13 stores to the package holidays giant
Although that only represents 0.4% of Intu’s secured rent, it still marks another headache for the malls firm. Like rivals, it has been hit by a number of retailers closing shops as part of restructures and weaker consumer confidence.
Other landlords hit include NewRiver, LandSec, British Land and Hammerson. They respectively have 9, 5, 5 and 4 Thomas Cook stores.
Trade body British Property Federation’s boss Melanie Leech said the closures “will put landlords, and the savers and pensioners they represent, under even more pressure in a challenging climate”.
According to property magazine EG, more than 20 million square feet of store space has become vacant since the start of 2018. Much of that is as a result of shops closing because of retailer collapses or restructures.
