West End landlord Grosvenor launches crisis support package

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Mar 23, 2020

Grosvenor Britain & Ireland, which owns hundreds of commercial units in London’s Mayfair and Belgravia, has stepped up its response to the Covid-19 pandemic, announcing a support package for retail and hospitality tenants.

The company said over 500 commercial tenants have been offered help "to ease cash flow concerns" and a team of property managers has been made available to offer individual support.

Additionally, Grosvenor has made a donation to support the work of the London Community Foundation, which has been nominated as a service delivery partner for the National Emergencies Trust Coronavirus appeal.

The measures are part of the group’s coronavirus response. According to CEO Mark Preston, Grosvenor’s objective is to help reduce the rate at which the virus spreads, which is why flexible and remote working has been enabled across the business.

The group has also vowed to support its tenants during the crisis and make cash contributions to charities making an impact in the fight against the virus.

“Our long history, which goes back to 1677, reminds us of how our organisation has faced and overcome many challenges. Through it all, we’ve kept a far-sighted approach and now is no different. We will continue to deliver as close to business-as-usual as we can, heeding local government advice along with feedback from our people, peers and from our local communities,” Preston said on Friday.

While pubs, restaurants, cinemas and leisure centres across the UK have been told to shut, non-essential retail stores can continue to operate for now. But the government’s advice to avoid non-essential travel has sent high street footfall plunging, and many fashion companies have voluntarily decided to close their stores. These include Selfridges, John Lewis, Primark, Topshop, H&M, Liberty and Nike.