Threat to listed retail landlords if Clintons shuts shops

Intu and British Land are among the listed landlords that could be hurt if greeting cards retailer Clintons follows through with plans to close shops and secure rent reductions.

Weekend reports said Clintons, owned by US retail investors the Weiss family, wants to axe 66 of its 332 sites and get rents cut. It could look to use a company voluntary arrangement to complete a restructuring.

A spokesman for Clintons said: “Talks with our landlords are still ongoing and no decisions have yet been taken.”

Property companies that stand to be affected include Intu and British Land which respectively let 16 and 15 shops to Clintons. Others include NewRiver, Hammerson and Landsec, which have seven, six and five Clintons stores.

Sources pointed out many of these are small and account for a minimal part of each landlord’s rental income.

However, any closures would be unhelpful as they come on top of other retailers, including Monsoon and Arcadia, doing recent CVAs.

Many retailers are grappling with weaker consumer confidence and higher business rates and wage bills.