Good morning.
IWG has declared war on its landlords(£), saying that unless rents are massively reduced it will put Regus plc into administration(£), effectively cancelling £790m of lease commitments.
The move comes as landlords brace themselves for another devastating quarter day(£). The unpaid rent bill for commercial property is expected to exceed £4.5bn.
Britain’s high streets are expected to permanently change as landlords seek to convert abandoned shops(£) into offices and flats.
Coffee shops have become one of the biggest high street casualties(£), after figures revealed only half have reopened since March.
Shaftesbury’s stock gained 3.5% on Friday despite the firm collecting less than half of rent due(£) since 1 April.
American buyout giant KKR has placed a £74m bet on London’s offices with a 5.35% stake in Great Portland Estates(£).
Arcadia boss Philip Green is planning to test that appetite, with hopes to sell the former Burton’s HQ(£) on Tottenham Court Road for £80m.
But offices will continue to suffer as workers return to their homes(£).
However, the pandemic has led some global banks to revise plans to relocate City staff(£) to the EU post-Brexit.
Our European siblings are returning to the office in droves(£), as the UK heads back to the kitchen table.
But all of this WFH could lead to a legal minefield, says The FT (£). But you could always spruce up your home-office with a Ron Arad chair(£).
Revolution Bars is considering a CVA(£) as The Times (£) says, again, that the north of England and London could face a two week shutdown of pubs and restaurants and a ban on indoor meetings. It also talks to some of those in the hospitality industry whose businesses face collapse by Christmas(£).
As London’s West End faces a 97% slump in added value(£), Luke Johnson mixes his metaphors in a heartfelt plea for ‘ghost-town’ London(£) to be saved from ‘going up in flames’.
The Pre-Pack Pool(£) has warned, again, that it will become irrelevant unless the government tightens up insolvency rules.
And where is the business secretary anyway? Alok Sharma has been “missing since March, says The Times (£).
At least he can still get a drink past 10pm. Parliament’s bars are exempt from the Covid Curfew(£).
The PM, meanwhile, faces rebellions over housing(£) and planning(£).
The recent warming of the housing market is expected to cool down(£) as demand dwindles(£)…
… As the share of homes bought by first-time buyers(£) falls for the first time in five years.
Actress Carey Mulligan and musician Marcus Mumford have thrown their support behind a campaign over unsafe flats(£).
Meanwhile Redrow’s founder Steve Morgan(£) has pledged £10m to help Covid-crushed charities.
Urban Logistics REIT has secured £89.2m in the first part of a fund raising to target £389m of acquisitions.
“I have been an outsider every single day. I am a 6’10 black guy working in England.” The FT (£) has an interview with Tristan Capital boss Ric Lewis.
Commercial properties in the US have lost around quarter of their value(£).
And finally, it appears Donald J Trump paid nearly no income tax for the past decade and a half(£). The property tycoon turned president paid just $750 in 2017 and 2018(£), and nothing at all for 10 out of the previous 15 years. The New York Times says the leaked documents demonstrates years of tax avoidance and business failures, which the president has dismissed as ‘fake news’ and ‘phoney’, unsurprisingly. What is surprising is the detail. $70,000 claimed in expenses for Trump’s hair-dos? No wonder it looks so… erm… yeah.
