Director of RivingtonHark, Mark Williams, expressed the importance on Radio 4 last week of service charge and rent to be paid in order to rejuvenate our towns and cities.
The Today Programme interviewed RivingtonHark’s Mark Williams on 11th Sept at 6.15am about the need for the Government to allow landlord and tenants contract to resume. COVID-19 has impacted everyone, but stopping rent and service charge to flow to pension funds and other investors, prevents them from investing in the evolution and regeneration everyone has been crying out for. No one wants empty space, and owners have worked tirelessly to help occupiers in distress through this period. The moratorium on rent collection was brought in to help independent traders on top of the rates relief and furlough provided to them when they were not allowed to trade. That help has been abused by some well resourced traders who have been open throughout the pandemic and by others who’s trade has recovered. We have already seen a once mighty FTSE100 company go bust as a result, and the danger is a continuation of the moratorium will increase the likelihood of centres closing and jobs lost, not the reverse.
Mark’s interview was broadcast on 11th September at 6:15am can be seen in full here:
