In a shock ballot this morning 25 thieves in Iran have voted against having their hands chopped off (at least, we think they did; some were repeat offenders and it was hard to count the vote). On a similar theme, breaking news before it has broken, in the least surprising news of today (so far), British Land, which owns 19 New Look stores, and Landsec, which owns 10, will oppose its planned CVA in the vote that matters later today (Tuesday 15 September). The alternative would be to vote for no rent for about two years and turnover-based rent thereafter and although many other landlords in very similar situations have voted for such a deal, New Look's bunch have sat down outside the court with their thumbs in their mouths and refused to budge.
New Look is attempting to push through its second major financial restructuring in under two years, has a particularly fragmented landlord base, with roughly 350 different owners of its UK outlets. However, if is approved (and it won't be), its CVA would result in the company switching its rent payments at the majority of its stores to a formula calculated according to their turnover - a proposal that has angered the British Property Federation, which represents commercial landlords.
Boohoo was spotted perched on a roof above the court, stretching its talons and waiting patiently for the result of the application. Sources say that some landlords were not able to attend the hearing as a rock fell in a landslide blocking their journey, pinning the coach driving them to court against a hard place.
[Saving Your Time On A Future Read Later Today: In a sensational judgment on Tuesday afternoon (15 September) a majority of landlords have voted down the second CVA in as many years at New Look, leaving those in the retail fashion group uncertain about its future. A spokesperson for the company said: "We could never have foreseen this. It leaves a majority of our landlords with nowhere to go. If only we could have read about the future on the only news service to give news before it happens we could both have sat down, just ahead of the brink, and thrashed something out. Why are all news' services the same?"
Sources at the NTI newsroom refused to comment, but were spotted putting £5,000 on an outsider at Sandown Park running in the Hampton Fillies' Handicap at 4.30pm tomorrow ...]
