Hammerson collects less than half of rent owed

British property giant Hammerson has collected less than half of net rental income due in the second quarter of the year.

At group level, 40 percent of rent due has been received to date, with the UK collecting 48 percent, France 23 percent, and Ireland 34 percent. An aggregate 46 percent of H1 2021 rent due has been collected.

The company said initial footfall recovery in England since non-essential stores were permitted to reopen last week has been “encouraging” and around 90 percent of operators are currently able to trade.

Footfall is “competitive with pre-pandemic levels”, with footfall at its English flagships at around four-fifths of the level achieved in the same week in April 2019 across a seven-day average.

In France, where all non-essential retail remains closed, Hammerson said it doesn’t expect operational performance “to materially improve” until the second half of the year.

In Ireland, non-essential retailers are expected to reopen at the beginning of May.

“Looking forward to when all occupiers are able to operate, we expect collection rates for both the current year and FY20 to continue to improve as restrictions are eased across territories,” Hammerson said in a release.