Tritax Big Box REIT has said it expects to receive 96% of rents due on 1 April by the end of May.
This includes 86% which has been collected to date, and a further 10% for which alternative short-term payments are expected to follow.
Tritax said discussions were “ongoing with certain customers” over the outstanding 4% of rent due.
The company said rents would need to fall by 60%, and values by 50%, before breaching its principal debt covenants.
LTV was 30% at 31 December, with a weighted average maturity across its loan facilities of 7.5 years.
The group will continue to pay a quarterly dividend, but dividend guidance will be withdrawn for the current financial year.
Colin Godfrey, fund management chief executive, said: “With a lack of visibility on the depth or duration of the crisis, we are working to ensure that the company remains in a robust position over the longer term by maintaining our existing strong relationships with customers.
“We are also preserving a well-funded balance sheet by taking a disciplined approach to all non-essential capital expenditure, while adopting a conservative stance in relation to our Q1 dividend payment.”
He added: “The crisis is bringing into sharp focus the need for occupiers to have a robust, flexible supply chain and the importance of operating in prime, well-located buildings.
“This pandemic may act as a catalyst for change, accelerating the adoption of e-commerce platforms as consumers increasingly shop online. This will continue to drive demand for logistics space as occupiers’ build in resilience and capacity to limit future potential disruptions.”
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