The landlord will offer most of the retailers in its solely owned schemes the chance to pay rent monthly from March for one year, providing they agree to switch to electronic payments.
The move comes as retailers face increasingly difficult trading conditions. Last September landlord Hermes said it would offer retailers the chance to pay monthly rents for existing leases, but with a penalty increase in rent of between 0.5 and 1 per cent.
Prupim director of asset management John Duxbury said: “We’re well aware of how difficult conditions are. There are lots of things within property where we rely on some old legislation and quarterly rents are one of them.”
The scheme will be offered to around 200 retailers covering about 1,500 leases, but excludes supermarkets. It will cover schemes such as The Grafton shopping centre in Cambridge, the Brunswick scheme in Scarborough and the Waterside Centre in Lincoln.
Duxbury said the move is temporary because of the need to “get the relief out now”. He added: “We’re talking to retailers every day and they tell us that this delivers what they need and they want the help immediately.”
He would not be drawn on whether the scheme would continue after the year, saying that it was “too early to speculate” on the state of the market in 2010. He added that he is also reviewing Prupim’s stance on service charges to see if any further concessions can be made.
Separately, landlords British Land and Land Securities are trialling a reduction in service charge at Meadowhall and the White Rose centre in Leeds.
Fashion retailer USC has renegotiated terms with landlords on 34 of its stores after 43 were bought out of administration by Sir Tom Hunter's West Coast Capital at the end of last year. The outcome of the negotiations with the remainder of its landlords and suppliers is expected next week.
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