MALLS DOWNTURN HITS HAMMERSON

ONE of Britain’s biggest shopping centre owners has seen its losses balloon.

Hammerson, which runs an empire that includes Glasgow’s Silverburn, fell £573.8million into the red in 2019, from a £173.3million loss the year before. The firm said its sites were 97 per cent full but the amount it received in rent had fallen.

It has been selling off properties and last week announced it had flogged nine retail parks for £455million.

Hammerson’s debts have reduced but still total £2.4billion. Its share price rose yesterday despite the firm halving its dividend. The pressure on retailers is highlighted with figures out today showing high street prices fell 0.6 per cent this month.

Weak demand from shoppers and cutthroat competition forced store bosses to carry on discounting longer than usual.

The drop for the year to February was double the 0.3 per cent figure for the year to January, said the British Retail Consortium and Nielsen. Non-food prices fell by an average of 1.9 per cent while food price inflation remained at 1.6 per cent.

Elsewhere, Tesco is completing its exit from China. Britain’s biggest grocer confirmed it was selling its 20 per cent stake in the tie-up to a Chinese state-run business for £275million.

Silverburn centre

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