The boss of Hotel Chocolat has claimed successful businesses are being penalised whenever flops such as Debenhams and the Arcadia group are handed a rent cut in order to survive.
Co-founder and chief executive Angus Thirlwell has demanded landlords include a clause that promises to match cuts granted to fellow tenants. New Look, Debenhams, Arcadia and Mothercare are among those who have forced through the deals under a Company Voluntary Arrangement after racking up too much debt.
Hotel Chocolat co-founder and chief executive Thirlwell said he was fed up with being "penalised for being successful" by subsiding rent cuts for others.
He said: "We didn't think it was right that this was happening - businesses shouldn't be penalised for being successful. We are growing and want to continue opening in new locations but in a long-term sustainable, careful and measured way."
Hotel Chocolat has 127 stores including two in Glasgow and others at Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Braehead, Livingston and Inverness. It reported a £14.1 million pre-tax profit in the year to June 30, up 11% with sales rising 14% to £132.5 million.
CVAs require approval from 75% of creditors - consisting mainly of landlords with years of future rent owed. But in renegotiations over rents, Hotel Chocolat has started calling for clauses that say if a near-neighbour store goes through a CVA process and enjoys a cut in rent, Hotel Chocolat should too.
The tactic was first raised by Next in 2018 when chief executive Simon Wolfson explained he had started asking for so-called "CVA clauses" in negotiations. Most recently, British Land launched a legal challenge to a CVA by Monsoon Accessorize over concerns that the company's owner had not invested enough cash into saving the business.
Hotel Chocolat added it will be focusing its attentions on new stores in train stations, airports and other sites that operate a turnover rents system - where an agreed percentage of a store's takings is handed over in lieu of rent.
