Lately there has been a string of large high street retail chains closing their shops as they struggle with the impact of the covid crisis. Brands like Byron, Carluccio’s, Prezzo and Le Pain Quotidien are closing tens of their stores up and down the country. This has led to an over supply of premium vacant sites that landlords will struggle to fill.

According to David Page it previously cost the business £650,000 to open a new Franco Manca restaurant. Now, he estimates that he can take over existing fitted out sites for as little as £200,000. “Six months ago, we would have had to pay premiums and spend capital expenditure on fitting out – but now we can walk into these stores because the previous tenants have done company voluntary arrangements or administration,” he said speaking with The Mail On Sunday. “The issue with a lot of these sites is whether the landlord has finally got to grips with the fact they have to accept less rent than they used to. Potentially, commercial rents could halve.”

This is a pattern that we have seen with landlords and new leases over the past couple of months, and is not exclusive to premium sites. Tenants can be more creative with the offers they put forward, with little upfront costs on new sites, and rents that share the risk with the landlord.

If you’d like to hear about the recent trends of new leases that are being completed, get in touch with us to find out more.