Britain’s biggest small business landlord plans to bring 900 abandoned railway arch sites back into use, but has made no promises about the threat of further rent increases for its tenants.
The Arch Company, a joint venture between Blackstone, the American private equity group, and Telereal Trillium, a British property manager and investor, comes into being today after its £1.5bn purchase of more than 5,000 properties located under railway arches from Network Rail.
The new landlord for more than 4,000 shops and small businesses located in about 5,200 properties across England and Wales pledged to be a long-term owner of the portfolio and to support independent businesses, while saying that it would seek to boost its income from the assets by raising rents in some areas.
