IN September, Jonathan Downey will close the cocktail bar he has run for 18 years, putting 15 people out of work.
Over nearly two decades he has handed his landlord almost £4million in rent — and never missed a payment.
But when lockdown forced him to shut the doors of the Milk & Honey bar in Soho, central London, Jonathan’s landlord insisted on the rent being paid IN FULL.
Now the bar has reopened and is struggling, the landlord has refused to negotiate a lower rate.
It has led to Jonathan, 54, launching the National Time Out campaign, calling on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to give tenants of commercial premises a ONE-YEAR break from paying rent.
He says: “I am not getting one day free from the landlord, nothing.
“Milk & Honey is just one of hundreds of thousands of small businesses this is happening to.”
With no income because of lockdown, only around a third of business tenants managed to meet their quarterly rent payments in June.
Jonathan, who also runs four food markets, pays a total of £1.3million a year to landlords.
Only one has offered a reduction — writing off £15,000, the equivalent of six months.
Jonathan’s scheme has been backed by more than 3,000 pubs, bars, clubs and restaurants.
It is a plan, he says, that will not cost the taxpayer a penny and will save around two million jobs.
Here is how National Time Out would work:
Jonathan says: “Landlords need to step in and support their tenants.
“But surveys show that 95 per cent of landlords of hospitality premises were still expecting full payment. That is just not realistic.
“Landlords need a debt repayment break, too.
“Almost all of them borrow money against their buildings, and if they are giving tenants a rent break, we need to give them a debt repayment break.”
His campaign group, which includes UK Burger King boss Alasdair Murdoch, celebrity chefs and thousands of owners of small businesses, has had previous success in getting the Chancellor to change the law.
In March they persuaded Mr Sunak to ban landlords from evicting tenants during the coronavirus crisis.
It was originally for three months but has been extended until the end of September.
Jonathan says: “The Government made legislation in days from me suggesting it.
“By moving quickly they gave everyone breathing space, which was fantastic.
“I think the Government hoped landlords would see sense, help their tenants out and deals would get done.
“But that has not happened. We need Government to push landlords to the negotiating table.
“It is about tenants, landlords and bankers all sharing the pain.
“It cannot all be forced on to the tenants.”
Jonathan fears that if a National Time Out scheme does not come, there will be a “rents Armageddon”.
He says: “On October 1, all the landlords that are sharks and vultures will be circling around premises ready to change the locks.
“If Rishi does not do something about Britain’s rent debt then 50 per cent of hospitality businesses will not be open and that will mean the loss of two million jobs.”
The Milk & Honey landlords were unavailable for comment.
PUBLICAN Debbie Lloyd owes her landlords more than £19,000 for the 14 weeks of lockdown.
Her Masons Arms pub in Kemberton, Shrops, is too small to reopen while social distancing rules are in place so she is still not bringing in any money.
Debbie, 50, says: “The landlords said we would still have to pay in full and we’d have 16 weeks to pay back the rent arrears. They did say that if we opened on July 4 they might offer us some discount.
“But it’s not worth reopening the doors when I have to find rent plus arrears with only 30 per cent income.
“It’s impossible and they have offered us no help whatsoever. So I have given them a month’s notice and stripped everything out that I paid for. But I will still owe them the rent.
“I think the National Time Out campaign is a fantastic idea that would help people like me. I really hope the Government listens.”
Debbie’s landlords were not available for comment.
PHILIP Carter runs a sandwich shop in Catterick Garrison, in the North Yorks constituency of Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
The 54-year-old says: “We are negotiating with the landlord to see what deal we can cut.
“Some landlords have been really good and helpful while others just say a blanket ‘no’.
“Tenants near us have said their landlords are not being helpful.
“Businesses like ours have been closed for at least four months and we have come back to a very reduced trade.
“The campaign to give tenants like us a break would help thousands.”
HAIRDRESSER Dennise Smith used some of her £10,000 coronavirus council grant to pay her rent during lockdown.
Although her salon in Croydon, South London, has reopened, Dennise, 52, fears she may struggle to pay her £1,250-a-month rent as trade is so uncertain.
She says: “I haven’t missed one payment in five years. We have reopened but there are so many restrictions you cannot be as busy.
“I don’t think I’m going to be taking anything like the same money as I did before Covid.
“Anything that could help to reduce the rent while we get up on our feet would be a boost.”
PUBS and restaurants might be open again, but their problems are far from over.
As head of the National Time Out campaign Jonathan Downey explains, hundreds of small businesses are closing their doors for the last time just as punters cautiously start to return.
Why? Because despite being forbidden from making money during lockdown, publicans and bar owners are now expected to cough up their rental payments — in full — to their landlords.
We know there’s no quick fix. And Chancellor Rishi Sunak has already been incredibly generous to the hospitality industry. But pub, restaurant and cafe owners are the beating heart of this country. They provide work for thousands and keep millions more cheerful.
If they put their heads together, surely banks, landlords and the Government can find a way to give these powerhouse employers a break while they get back on their feet.
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