High Street shops pay £1 rents

Landlords offer retailers 'business rate only' deals to save money on vacant shops.

Author:: Lewis Tyler
Publish date:: Nov 7, 2011

17_High Street.jpg

Certain High Street shops are being offered rents of £1 a year, according to the Financial Times.

Dixons said it is paying £1 a year on a "small handful" of its 121 stores while Card Factory said it was only paying business rates on some of its 600 High Street shops.

The low or no-rent deals are being offered as landlords try to avoid paying business rates. Property owners must pay the rates, typically 40 per cent of a shop’s annual rent, when a premises is empty.

High Street vacancy rates are currently 14.3 per cent, up from four per cent in 2008.

10_High Street Bleak.jpg

Local Data Company report shows vacancy rates were at 14 per cent in 2011.

The cost of renting shops on the High Street is less than it was 20 years ago.

11_High Street Generic 2.jpg

Retail sales trackers report like-for-like drops as families hold back on Christmas shopping.

Retailer looks to leave smaller shops in favour of shopping malls.

15_High Street.jpg

Toy retailers say that sales can be boosted if neighbouring shops group together.

Head of retail at commercial property specialist predicts the retailer will have physical outlets by 2020.

5_UK High Street 1.jpg

BDO reports a 2.6 per cent increase in sales while non-store purchasing soars.

Town centre vacancy rate now stands at 11.3 per cent, says the British Retail Consortium.

Gameplan I Southeast of England I Salary: Competitive I Date Published Monday 7th January 2019

Rainbow Designs Ltd I Olympia, London I Salary: Competitive I Date Published Wednesday 16th January 2019

games workshop

Games Workshop I Nottingham I Salary: Competitive I Date Published Monday 7th January 2019

national trust promo

National Trust I Swindon I Salary: 45,000 pa I Date Published Monday 7th January 2019