UK CHEMIST chain Boots has signalled a new policy on renting shops in unproven shopping locations by opting to pay a percentage of its turnover rather than any kind of a fixed rent where there is uncertainty about the viability of the store.
The chemist chain, which has more than 60 outlets in the Republic, has just agreed to pay 9 per cent of its turnover rather than the usual standard rent for a new store planned for the newly opened Milfield shopping centre in Balbriggan, Co Dublin.
Other multiples are also increasingly pushing for letting terms which include an element of turnover but in most cases the terms have also included a basic rental figure.
Big name traders, particularly those from the UK, are well aware that shopping centre owners are desperate to attract them, particularly in the present difficult environment. A rental arrangement based entirely on turnover reduces the risk for the trader and puts shopping centre owners under pressure to continue to bring in ever more shoppers.
Boots is to trade from a well-located shop unit opposite Tesco in the Balbriggan centre. It will have 418sq m (4,500sq ft) of retail space and another 185sq m (2,000sq ft) of storage space overhead. Savills and Jones Lang LaSalle are letting agents for the centre while Boots was advised by DTZ Sherry FitzGerald.
