Burger King chief executive Alasdair Murdoch, who closed 500 stores on Tuesday March 24, told the BBC's Today programme that he will not be paying rent in the UK this week as he prepares to cover staff wages until government support begins to flow to the company in late April.
"Creative Solutions"
Murdoch stated, "We're not intending to pay our rent tomorrow.
"Most landlords as well have been reasonable about this. There are a number of creative solutions as well. We could add three months onto the end of the lease for those people who are unable to pay...at the end of these three months."
Government Stance
The British government, scrambling to deal with the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, said last week that landlords should not evict commercial tenants who do not pay their rent due to the coronavirus crisis.
A halt in payments, however, also raises the question of whether landlords will be forced to default on their own debt commitments.
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