Land Securities still waiting on £35m of December rent

Land Securities updated the market on its rent collection for December on Tuesday, reporting that of the £112m that fell due on the 25th of the month, £35m remained outstanding.

The FTSE 100 commercial landlord said that 87% of the net amount due on its office portfolio had been received by day five, down from 96% a year earlier, while just 29% of its rest of central London portfolio was paid, compared to 87% in December 2019.

Of its regional retail assets, 36% of the net amount due had been paid by day five, compared to 90% a year ago, while 40% of rent on its ‘urban opportunities’ properties was paid, down from 93%.

Finally, in its ‘subscale sectors’, Land Securities said 33% of the net amount due on 25 December was paid by diy five, down from 90% year-on-year.

That made for a total rent collection of 65% of the £101m net due by day five in December 2020, compared to 94% by the same date in 2019.

“Of the £35m of rent outstanding, £14m relates to customers who have withheld payment pending documentation of agreed concessions,” the Land Securities board explained in its statement.

Looking at the wider period between 25 March and 24 December, reflecting the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the company thus far, Land Securities said £408m of the net £509m due for the period had been received to date.

That meant 80% of the net rent due had been received by the company since the start of the coronavirus crisis.

At 0802 GMT, shares in Land Securities Group were up 0.29% at 660p.