CAMPAIGN FOR FAIRER RETAIL RENTS

That this House welcomes the British Retail Consortium's campaign to end the archaic practice of landlords demanding shop rents three months in advance, imposing severe cash flow pressures on businesses and costing retailers an extra £145 million a year; is pleased that a large number of trade bodies representing shopkeepers of all shapes and sizes have given their backing to the campaign; urges landlords to pledge to accept rents monthly in advance, thereby helping their tenants continue to trade in an increasingly difficult market place; and recognises that in the past 18 months many well-known retailers and many smaller shops have disappeared from the high street as adverse trading conditions and serious cost inflation have combined to erode margins and that greater flexibility in commercial leases would go a long way in helping to reverse this trend and would help the UK's retail industry to prosper.