JD warns landlords to be realistic on Blacks rent

Peter Cowgill, executive chairman of JD Sports Fashion, has warned that landlords need to be "realistic" about lowering rents at Blacks Leisure, which the sportswear chain acquired out of administration this week.

He fired the warning shot across the bows of the property sector, as JD posted flat underlying sales over the festive trading period.

The sportswear group acquired the company behind the 290 Blacks and Millets outdoor shops for £20 million on Tuesday after seeing off competition from rival bidders, including Sports Direct.

Cowgill said: "When you go into administration you have a clean sheet for renegotiating rents. In some areas, [Blacks] is over-rented on a number of stores. If landlords are more realistic then the future of retailers such as Blacks is more secure." JD, which also operates chains including Bank and Scotts, said underlying sales in the UK and Ireland rose by only 0.1% in the five weeks to January 7 - its seventh consecutive year of growth. But sales at fashion chain Bank were hit by "distribution issues" with suppliers of brands over the period, although Cowgill would not elaborate on this.

After JD bought Blacks, Sports Direct hit out at some outdoor suppliers and wrote to the Office of Fair Trading urging the watchdog to "look closely" at the outdoor and sports retail market. But Cowgill said: "I was surprised to see their statement I don't know their motivation for making it."