Landlords to the Retail Rescue
When the high street’s dying, and you’ve gone for broke, who you gonna call? Your landlord! A giant mall operator is assembling an emergency rescue party for its retail tenants left behind by the online era. The lengths some will go to chase rent!
Simon Property Group has amassed quite a portfolio of real estate over the years. As a real estate investment trust (REIT) it operates malls, charging rent to retailers that move into its spaces. Who says the stock market can’t get you into real estate? Companies like Simon Property Group offer investors the fixed dividend income of a steady rental roll, on top of the upside stock potential of new buildings and lease agreements!
Wait, there’s an elephant in the room. As brick and mortar retailers slowly rust in the new online world, many outlets are gasping for survival. Like it or not, these retailers put Simon’s food on the table, and the Group has an invested interest in their futures. Speaking to an audience of investors, the CEO of Simon said his company could actually invest in its tenants!
Cherry-picking firms whose days are least numbered, the company believes it’s as good an investor as anyone. Saving its customers from bankruptcy could add a new lease of life to its own prospects!
Some have their doubts. A mall in a well-populated, clustered city center with dense traffic will always be useful space. However, until retailers find a store concept that’s competitive against the likes of Amazon, resuscitating these firms could only make their deaths slower and more painful. Let’s let em’ try though, right? It would be one heck of a comeback story!
