Capital Shopping Centres suffers as its rival Shaftesbury prospers
CAPITAL Shopping Centres, Britain’s largest shopping centre owner, has suffered a drop in rental income in the first half of 2012 as it struggled to re-let shops following a string of retail failures earlier this year.
The owner of malls including the Trafford Centre in Manchester and Lakeside in Essex, said like-for-like net rental income dropped 2.3 per cent to £181.8m in the six months to 30 June. Occupancy remained stable at the 95 per cent level reported in the first quarter, but it is still down from 97 per cent at the end of 2011.
Since December a slew of well-known high street names including Game, La Senza and Clintons have fallen foul of an increasingly tough economic climate. And some 80 units in CSC’s 15 malls across the country are let to tenants in administration.
In contrast, Shaftesbury, a property peer centred solely on London’s sought-after West End, reported continued strong demand for its shops and offices, with high levels of occupancy as a result.
In an interim update for the three months to 26 July 2012, the group – which owns 500 buildings in areas like Carnaby Street and China Town – said it was prepared for some disruption around the Olympics, but was uncertain of the extent of its impact on trading in the West End.