WHSmith is the latest retailer to demand rent cuts from landlords as the pandemic continues to hurt revenue.
Following plans to cut 1500 out of its 14,000 jobs across its UK store operations to reduce costs, news has now emerged that the retailer has drafted in property adviser Gerald Eve to negotiate deals with property owners.
WHSmith’s revenue was down 57% last month compared with July 2019 with the majority of this loss coming from WHSmith’s travel stores, although travel revenue has started to recover from the pandemic, sales were still nearly three-quarters lower in July. Recovery from the pandemic is slow and the retailer says its expects to post a loss of £70-75 million.
