Looming rent day may put retailers to the test

The high street is bracing itself for another wave of company failures as quarterly rents are due this Friday. Entrepreneurial predators can, therefore, expect several opportunities to make acquisitions over the coming weeks.

Quarterly rent due dates at the end of March, June, September and December have heralded several retailers being put into administration in the past, with high-profile cases including music store Zavvi, tea specialist Whittard of Chelsea and men’s fashion clothing shop the Officer’s Club.

The Officer’s Club entered administration at the end of March this year, Grant Thornton sold about half of the business to Blue Inc in a deal worth £5 million. The business had also been taken into administration in December 2008. The appointed administrators at PwC sold it to management at the time.

Whittard of Chelsea was sold out of administration to EPIC private equity partners in December 2008. At the time the deal safeguarded the jobs of 950 staff, keeping all 130 shops open and trading. Whittard’s presence on the high street remains strong to this day.

Research undertaken by Deloitte has shown that retail administrations for the first quarter of 2011 rose by 30 per cent to 60, from a total of 46 for the same period the previous year. Two of the better-known victims are Focus DIY and off-licence chain Oddbins.

The BRC has been requesting that commercial landlords accept monthly rental payments instead of quarterly to ease the pressure on struggling retailers.

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