A new survey from Jones Lang La Salle has shown that 68% of businesses have received rent reductions as a result of a slowdown in commercial activity.
The news comes as McDonald’s announced that they are looking for a reduction of 50% on their rent for their Grafton Street restaurant. They are currently paying €1.15 million per annum on the building, which operates 24 hours a day.
The Jones Lang La Salle survey revealed that of the 32% who hadn’t received reductions, they were either refused them or didn’t ask for them.
The survey was carried out among retailers trading in the Republic with 700 separate outlets. About 55% of the respondents had less than five separate branches.
Stephen Murray, retail director of JLL, told The Irish Times that on drilling deeper into the extent of rent reductions received, 68% of respondents said their rent was cut by over 20% and more than half of them reported reductions of at least 30 per cent. He said that notwithstanding the fact that close to a third of occupiers had no rent reductions, there seemed to be a reasonable level of engagement with landlords.
