JD Sports withholds rents, in talks on next quarterly bill

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Apr 1, 2020

JD sports is the latest big-name retailer to withhold rent as the lockdown continues and stores remain shut. The quarterly rent that was due last week on its 390 UK stores hasn't been paid and the retailer is believed to be talking to its landlords about the bill that’s due in June.

The company’s shops in mainland Europe and the US, as well as in the UK, were all closed as of last week at the latest and the company has said that these closures would have a "significant impact" on its results.

Until now, JD had been one of the consistent strong performers in a difficult UK and European retail environment. The athleisure trend and its strong relationships with the leading sports brands had made it a must-visit destination for those seeking branded sports-linked product.

And while we assume that it’s in better shape than many UK retailers to deal with the coronavirus crisis and come out the other end intact, it will still be enduring some of the pain that its retail peers are seeing.