Even the most cursory look at recent BRC-Springboard footfall figures since the turn of the year paints a bleak picture for retailers across the bricks-and-mortar spectrum. As a result, landlords everywhere are feeling the pinch, but few more so than the big institutional landlords.

Earlier this month, in the space of a week, three of the biggest shopping centre owners in the UK published half-year financial updates. Hammerson, Intu and Westfield all reported falls in rental income as a result of increased vacancies off the back of CVAs and leasing delays.

Intu was hit the hardest, with net rental incomes across its 14 UK schemes down 17.9% to £205.2m. Group level income at Hammerson slipped 6.8%, while Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield’s UK income slipped 3.1%.