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Statement by London Property Alliance on Covid-19 outbreak

18 Mar 2020

The Alliance represents property owners in the Cities of London and Westminster – which acknowledge their duty to stakeholders to act responsibly and invest for the long-term.

Our members will be taking a responsible approach to supporting their occupiers through this unprecedented situation. No business will be immune from the impact of this crisis and we all have to work together to get through it.

The focus of all responsible owners is to help their tenants through short-term issues so that they are in a position, financially and operationally, to resume business when the crisis abates. It is in everybody’s interests to avoid permanent closures and safeguard jobs wherever possible during such challenging times, so landlords will be flexible to support their tenants wherever possible.

Where switching to monthly payments can help resolve some cashflow issues, we fully expect landlords to work with their tenants to help achieve this, within their existing funding arrangements, and would urge funders to support their businesses to address the technical and contractual barriers currently in place.

But this is just one step and other initiatives are likely to be required, which is why the Government’s financial package of support is very much welcomed. However, every option should be left on the table to extend this further to support all businesses throughout the period of, and recovery from, the disruption caused by this crisis.