Findings out on Wednesday reveal 71% of UK high street firms forecast more job losses without further support from government or landlords, says commercial property restructuring firm, Cedar Dean.

As the end of the rent holiday nears, around 80% of high street tenants are still faced with “unproductive” talks with landlords.

In addition, 60% of retailers don’t expect to last six months after the end of the rent debt relief, whilst 21% believe they could only last a further 12 months without more support, City AM reports.

As part of a poll of corporate and SME operators, Cedar Dean’s findings showed out of 355 businesses in 10,000 locations, 93% have experienced “substantial” job losses, with another 70% expecting further job cuts.

According to Cedar Dean CEO, David Abramson: “The evidence is clear that we still have a significant issue on rent arrears to deal with and government must intervene and give businesses certainty in the coming weeks to avoid a cliff edge in June where large numbers of jobs and businesses are at risk.

“I fear the SMEs are those who are at most risk and the government rent evidence survey is not being accessed by as many smaller businesses and I believe it is precisely these businesses who are at most risk in the coming weeks.”
The research also revealed 75% of tenants will resort to restructuring or insolvency without additional support.

Also, 77% of businesses are not confident the government will provide sufficient rent options in time.

Around 92% of high street stores backed the Australian rent model, the City AM report goes on to add, whilst 33% were in favour of a legally binding agreement with landlords.