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Coronavirus: The shops refusing to pay their rent
May 23, 2020
Andrea Orsini's family has run M Bar in London's Leadenhall Market for 40 years.
But after shutting up shop because of the lockdown, he says he can't afford his next rent bill.
He pays £70,000 a year to his landlord. On top of that, he must also fund a service charge, business rates and a tables and chairs license.
It all adds up to £125,000 which, as he puts it, is a lot of tea and coffee.
Round the corner, Patrick Dudley Williams, who runs the clothing brand Reef Knots, is in a similar position.
He said it would not be sustainable to borrow money to fund rent for his shop, which is currently closed and in a part of the city that is unlikely to see customers return for some time.
Their landlord, the City of London Corporation, says it is aware of the difficulties faced by businesses in Leadenhall Market.
The corporation, which is the local council for the Square Mile, said it has offered three month rent deferrals to selected tenants, adding that it was considering further support.
Can't pay, won't pay
A similar story is being told up and down the country.
This weekend, Cheltenham publican Ed Anderson handed over his pubs' keys to his local MP to highlight the difficulties that businesses are facing paying rent while they are closed.
Image copyright Ed Anderson
He says rent bills will "break" the hospitality sector and he's encouraging other business owners to join his campaign Keys2MPs.
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