Rent day arrives with under pressure retailers set to pay out millions

25th March | cash | Many furniture and flooring retailers today face massive rental payments that could push some over the edge. Major chains must shell out large seven figure outlays to pay their rent for the next three months, but the firm considered most at risk in the home sector will not be succumbing today.

Flooring retailer Allied Carpets, up for sale since December, is thought to face an £8m rent bill but will meet its obligations after being bought by a US investment fund. It brings to a close an unhappy decade under the ownership of Tapis Saint-Maclou, where it ran up losses of £40m and struggled to compete against Lord Harris’ Carpetright chain.

Whether quarter day will prove a step too far for other retailers remains to be seen. Many of the larger furniture retail businesses reduced the headcount late last year across their stores in anticipation of weaker demand, while independent retailers are increasingly citing rent fears as the main reason for shutting up shop when their leases expire.