Headlines
• More Covid-19 patients in English hospitals now than when lockdown began
• NHS Nightingale hospitals put on standby
• Most A-level and GCSE exams in England will be delayed
• Chinese city Qingdao is to test its 9m population in five days
Company news
Real Estate
• Great Portland Street – “For the 29 September quarter, 61% of rents due (which, following rescheduling and other temporary arrangements with occupiers, represents 70% of this quarter ’s rent roll) was secured within seven working days (June 2020: 57%), which has now risen to 63%. Of the further 30% of our rent roll on monthly payment terms (June 2020: 30%), 80% was collected within seven working days of the due date. In total, so far we have collected 65% of all rent due, or 73% (June 2020: 69%) including amounts available from rent deposits.
All of our office buildings remain open for business, with levels of occupier utilisation currently around 27% of full occupancy and around 90% of our retail units are open. ”
• Helical – “We have now collected 94.7% of all rent contracted and payable for the March quarter. Of the balance, we have granted rent holidays on 2.4%, mainly to our F&B tenants, leaving 2.9% subject to ongoing discussions with tenants.
For the June quarter, we have collected 91.3% with a further 0.1% to be received under payment plans shortly. Of the balance, we have granted rent holidays on 4.6%, again this is mainly to our F&B tenants, leaving 4.0% subject to ongoing discussions with tenants.
We have collected 84% of the September quarter rents demanded to date, compared to 77% and 85% at the corresponding dates for June and March, respectively. Through further cash receipts from monthly payments, we anticipate that we will have collected between 90% and 96% of this quarter’s rent by the end of December. ”
Other
• South Korea has lowered its social distancing guidelines to the lowest level. The country is now at Level 1 of its three -tier system. Karaoke centres, gyms and buffets can now open, while crowds of almost one -third capacity are permitted in stadiums. Facemasks are still required in many public places.
• The Chinese city of Qingdao is testing its entire population of nine million people over a period of five days.
• NHS Nightingale hospitals in Manchester, Sunderland and Harrogate are being asked to get ready to take patients.
• Italy has issued a decree that prohibits people from hosting more than 10 guests in their homes or in any other private premises. It also states that no more than 10 guests will be allowed at weddings, and no more than 15 people can be present at funerals.
• Most A -level and GCSE exams in England will be delayed by three weeks next year due to the pandemic, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has confirmed. The exams will go ahead but they will be delayed, he said.
• The Scottish government has said it will implement a three -tier framework of Covid restrictions – similar to that being introduced in England – later in October.
• In Lebanon the caretaker government has ordered more than a 150 villages into lockdown for a week. It has also ordered bars and nightclubs to close until further notice.
• There are more Covid-19 patients in English hospitals now than there were when lockdown was announced, although the comparison needs a bit of context. Currently, daily new admissions are doubling every fortnight; back in March they were doubling every few weeks.
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