Re-Leased, the cloud-based commercial property management platform, has published its latest figures for the December Rent Quarter. These new figures analyse rent collection 42 days after commercial rents were due on the 25th December 2021 and provide an indication for the remainder of the quarter.
The data reveals that by 8th February 2022 landlords had received 73% of all commercial rents due. The figure is exactly on par with the same point in the September quarter, showing that despite a small drop earlier in the December quarter as the Omicron wave hit the UK, the commercial property industry remains resilient.
| Total Reconciled (as of day 14) | Dec Qtr 2019 | Mar Qtr 2020 | Jun Qtr 2020 | Sep Qtr 2020 | Dec Qtr 2020 | Mar Qtr 2021 | Jun Qtr 2021 | Sep Qtr 2021 | Dec Qtr 2021 |
| *Average | 73% | 55% | 60% | 62% | 67% | 62% | 65% | 73% | 73% |
| Retail | 76% | 47% | 55% | 65% | 59% | 57% | 64% | 70% | 69% |
| Office | 67% | 63% | 72% | 74% | 75% | 70% | 70% | 74% | 73% |
| Industrial | 79% | 65% | 65% | 65% | 75% | 70% | 73% | 78% | 84% |
Re-Leased’s data shows that the industrial sector, which has continuously performed best throughout the crisis, has now exceeded pre-covid levels of rent collection for the first time, with 84% of rents collected. 2021 was a record year for the industrial sector, with total investment volumes standing at £10.4bn, eclipsing the previous annual record set in 2020 by 73%, according to research from Savills.
Recovery is back on track across the other sectors, with the retail sector just levelling the same point in the September quarter at 69% of rents collected and retail mirroring the national average at 73%.
Sam Caulton, Re-Leased’s CFO, said: “It’s encouraging to see that our industry has been able to withstand December’s Omicron wave and continue towards full recovery from the covid crisis.
Caulton continued: “The industrial sector has gone from strength to strength over the past 18 months as the surge in online shopping provided unprecedented demand for logistics infrastructure. The sector has proved absolutely vital for economic growth, and that only looks set to continue into 2022.”
As well as a strong recovery across sectors, Re-Leased latest data shows some promising figures for rent collection in the regions. Yorkshire and the Humber and the Midlands are at their highest figure at this point in the quarter since before the pandemic, at 83% and 80% respectively. Meanwhile London, at 58%, is still lagging behind the rest of the country but has slightly improved on this point in the September quarter.
| Total Reconciled (as of day 14) | Dec Qtr 2019 | Mar Qtr 2020 | Jun Qtr 2020 | Sept Qtr 2020 | Dec Qtr 2020 | Mar Qtr 2021 | Jun Qtr 2021 | Sep Qtr 2021 | Dec Qtr 2021 |
| East Midlands | 85% | 52% | 66% | 64% | 70% | 73% | 80% | 78% | 81% |
| East of England | 89% | 56% | 62% | 59% | 75% | 62% | 56% | 77% | 68% |
| London | 81% | 45% | 56% | 56% | 59% | 47% | 49% | 57% | 58% |
| North East | 61% | 55% | 84% | 42% | 76% | 45% | 46% | 83% | 78% |
| North West | 62% | 48% | 52% | 59% | 65% | 61% | 67% | 80% | 77% |
| South East | 62% | 46% | 54% | 61% | 62% | 62% | 64% | 70% | 73% |
| South West | 77% | 46% | 46% | 39% | 52% | 48% | 54% | 63% | 58% |
| Wales | 87% | 54% | 70% | 76% | 73% | 78% | 76% | 77% | 79% |
| West Midlands | 58% | 72% | 73% | 72% | 77% | 72% | 76% | 78% | 80% |
| Yorkshire And Humber | 63% | 60% | 58% | 70% | 72% | 74% | 77% | 80% | 83% |
Re-Leased’s analysis is based on live rental collection data from over 10,000 commercial properties and 35,000 leases on its UK platform.