Corona crisis in catering industry: 70 percent more vacant rental premises
Since the beginning of the second wave, more and more cafés, restaurants and bars are empty. The supply of empty rental space for gastro-restaurants is at a record high. Now that their premises have closed for the second time, many restaurateurs must be giving up.
Since November, listings for restaurants, hotels, bars and cafes have skyrocketed. In January, they were a whole 70 percent above the previous year's value, as the real estate platform Immoscout24 announced on Monday. Thus, the advertisements of gastro-restaurants have reached a new high.
According to the announcement, the advertised pubs are almost exclusively rental properties. Because the rent is a significant part of the fixed costs, many restaurateurs are currently forced to give up their rented premises, Immoscout24 CEO Martin Waeber is quoted in the statement.
Rental prices likely to fall
At least there is a small consolation for the restaurateurs who have now given up their premises: When they reopen, rents are likely to be lower than before. This is because, on the one hand, more and more pubs are standing empty and, on the other, demand for rental properties from the restaurant trade has also been falling since the start of the second lockdown.
And that is likely to influence prices, according to the real estate experts at Immoscout24: "If supply continues to rise and demand for these properties declines at the same time, this could put pressure on rents in the medium term," says Waeber.
No influence on purchase prices
The picture is different for restaurants that are for sale: Property owners, unlike tenants, are much less likely to want to part with their properties. In any case, according to Immoscout24, the number of listings for properties for sale is still at the pre-crisis level.
"Due to the lower interest rates, owners have the advantage that they have lower costs than tenants," Waeber is quoted as saying. Moreover, such properties often consist not only of restaurant space, but also of rental apartments, for example, which are hardly affected by the crisis. (SDA)
