Apple asks UK landlords to halve rent after record sales

The iPhone maker wants fees to match those of retailers benefitting from landlords cutting rents as footfall in shopping centers plummeted during the height of coronavirus lockdown measures.

JPMorgan has an overweight rating on Apple shares, and despite removing the company from the focus list, raised its price target to $425 from $365. (Bloomberg)

Apple Inc. is asking retail store landlords to slash the rent for some of its U.K. outlets by as much as 50% but offering to extend leases by several years in return.

The iPhone maker wants fees to match those of retailers benefitting from landlords cutting rents as footfall in shopping centers plummeted during the height of coronavirus lockdown measures, U.K. newspaper The Sunday Times reported.

The profitability of Apple's 38-store estate in the U.K. is such that landlords are desperate for the company to remain a tenant, the Sunday Times wrote.

Landlords do not have to make a decision yet, as the request is for stores that still have several years left on their leases. Apple declined to make a comment to The Sunday Times.

The push to cut rents comes after Apple reported record second-quarter sales of $59.7 billion and dethroned Saudi Aramco as the world's most profitable company.

Written by Olivia Konotey-Ahulu.