The retail and hospitality sectors were already reeling from the twin assaults of online competition and Brexit. News that the UK response to Covid-19 is to move from containment to delay suggests a third significant adverse driver to footfall in the immediate future.
With any restriction on movement, the ability to meet and socialise, or indeed simply to shop, the impact on tenant cash-flow may be more significant than any short-term measures announced by the new Chancellor in yesterday’s budget. Even a return to historically low interest rates might not be enough for cash-strapped retail tenants to survive.
