Hotel Chocolat calls for rent cuts
Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVAs), where a retailer asks landlords for a rent cut to avoid going bust, has been a popular route out of difficulties for struggling high street chains.
Hotel Chocolat’s co-founder and chief executive, Angus Thirlwell, said he was fed up with getting “penalised for being successful” by subsiding rent cuts for others, and called for “fairness” from landlords.
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Hide AdHe said: “We didn’t think it was right that this was happening – businesses shouldn’t be penalised for being successful. We are growing and want to continue opening in new locations but in a long term sustainable, careful and measured way.”
The retailer, which has 127 stores across the country, has managed to hold up well in tough high street conditions, banking a £14m pre-tax profit in the year to June 30, with sales rising 14 per cent to £132.5m.
In renegotiations with landlords over rents, the company has started calling for clauses that say if a near-neighbour store goes through a CVA process and enjoys a cut in rent, Hotel Chocolat should too.
Retailers and landlords have been through heated battles in recent years, with CVAs staving off some store closures.