As retailers and restaurateurs struggle, the Crown Estate, which owns swathes of London’s West End, has written to some tenants offering to link rents to turnover — meaning it will accept lower payments while they trade below usual levels.
In one letter the group asked for 9% of turnover, or a percentage of what it would normally receive in quarterly rents, on a scale starting at 0% for the current period and rising to 75% by next March.
Among those to benefit is Corbin & King, whose Soho restaurant Brasserie Zédel is a Crown Estate tenant. “The Crown has taken the lead in showing landlords how they should behave,” said Jeremy King, co-founder.
The Crown Estate, whose empire is worth £13.5bn, pays a share of its profits towards the sovereign grant, which funds the Queen and other royals. It said it was focusing its help on small and independent businesses.
“For a number of our restaurant operators who are facing particular challenges at this time, we have offered the option to move to more of a turnover-based structure for the coming period, on a case by case basis, as part of the safe and sustainable reopening of the West End,” said James Cooksey, director of the Crown Estate’s central London portfolio.
