Star Pubs & Bars is to extend rent concessions for its leased & tenanted pubs throughout November at a cost of £2.8m and will then review them on a monthly basis for the foreseeable future, the company announced today.
It will see pubs benefitting from the same rent reductions they received in October during November. Pubs will be given a 30%, 35% or 50% reduction depending on their individual circumstances and the Government support they have been able to access.
These calculations have been made transparently and details are available on the Star Pubs & Bars website. The move brings Star’s total investment in rent reductions to £27.8m since the end of March.
In addition, the company confirmed it would continue to review rents in areas where there are local lockdowns that prohibit pubs from opening altogether. To date Star has cancelled rent for its pubs in Aberdeen, Bolton and Leicester whilst they have been forced to close during local lockdowns. The company are also cancelling rents entirely for over 100 of their pubs forced to close in Scotland’s 16 day central belt lockdown from tomorrow.
Lawson Mountstevens, Star Pubs & Bars Managing Director said: “We’re committed to helping our licensees through these uncertain times and reducing rent is central to the support we’re providing.
“The introduction of the 10pm curfew and additional restrictions in many areas are impacting consumer confidence and are a major blow to licensees who have worked so hard to get their pubs safely back up and running.
“Alongside the whole industry, we’re urging the Government to put further financial assistance in place to offset these measures and to clarify their plans as a matter of urgency in order to bring some much-needed certainty to the hospitality sector and prevent further business closures.”