Coronavirus crisis: Rail arches owner unveils rents plan to help tenants

The owner of a £1.5 billion empire of railway arches home to gyms, cafes and breweries, on Friday set up a new rent deferral plan to help small businesses struggling because of coronavirus.

The Arch Company, owned by property investor giants Blackstone and Telereal Trillium, said long-standing small businesses experiencing severe cashflow problems, particularly those in the hospitality, leisure, retail and overseas travel sectors, will be offered the opportunity to defer rents.

Payments can be deferred for an initial month, until government funding is in place to help companies, up to a maximum of three months if it does not arrive quickly.

Some tenants will also have the option to move to monthly rent bills from quarterly ones.

Adam Dakin, managing director of The Arch Company, said firms in the arches employ thousands of people across the country and “we want to make sure that they are not forced out of business due to the huge pressure on short term cash flow”.

Dakin also said his company will work on a case by case basis to support tenants who, even after government support, may still face extreme hardship.

He added: “Before coronavirus, The Arch Company represented a thriving community of successful small businesses. We want to do our best to keep that successful business community intact for when this crisis is over.”

Before the virus escalated in Britain, The Arch Company was recently accused of proposing “excessive” rent hikes for some tenants. It said at the time it undertakes rent reviews on a case-by-case basis. Rent reviews take into account a number of factors including appropriate comparables in the area.

The company told the Standard earlier this month it is committed to working closely with long-standing small businesses and not-for-profits that have affordability concerns to agree suitable rents.