Coronavirus is wreaking havoc on the high street

Covid-19 is making life even more difficult for retailers and could deal a fatal blow to the weaker operators.

Laura Ashley has been deserted for nimbler rivals © Universal Images Group via Getty

Department-store group Debenhams has already gone through two insolvency processes, says Jonathan Eley in the Financial Times. Now it has asked landlords for an “immediate five-month rent holiday” because of the likely impact of coronavirus.

The request is on top of a previous plea for reductions in the estimated £250m that the store pays in rent and business rates, which was tied to a planned balance sheet restructuring. While Debenhams has refused to detail the impact of the virus outbreak on its revenue, it is likely to be “significant” given the location of most of its stores on high streets and in shopping centres.

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Dr Matthew Partridge
Shares editor, MoneyWeek

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri