Bahrain City Centre mall will not impose a blanket rent hike of up to 40 per cent and instead increases will be agreed on an individual basis, a top official said.

The rents of about 150 traders are up for renewal in September.

Our sister newspaper Gulf Daily News (GDN) earlier reported that they were unhappy after receiving notices saying there would be an increase of between 30 and 40 per cent.

Traders said they were expecting leniency in keeping with the difficult times, but claimed they were told to either agree to the rises or leave.

Bahrain City Centre general manager Ray Scott said it was unfortunate timing that some tenancies were up for renewal in September, but officials were negotiating individually with traders to discuss their circumstances until agreements were reached.

He said it may be that some tenancies would be renewed for different periods of time at different rates or in some cases rent increases could be put on hold.

The hike in rents was a reflection of increases in electricity and maintenance costs and additional advertising, which was now mandatory, added Scott.

Top officials from the Al Futtaim Group, which owns the BD250 million mall, met Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Hassan Fakhro to discuss the situation last month.

They said they planned to contact tenants whose rent was up for renewal at the two-year-old facility to re-negotiate their rent and find a solution.

Bahrain's retail trade lost around 80 per cent of its business during the unrest, with the gold industry reportedly losing a $1 million (BD378,000) a day in the week that businesses remained closed in March.

Scott said sales were down by up to 12 per cent last month compared to the same period last year and footfall was off by up to 14 per cent.

'The last two to three months have been difficult, but business is coming back and more footfall has been coming and we are seeing an increase in sales over the past two months and feel positive over the summer months,' he said.

'We expect to see a very strong July, but we are still not sure about access and checks and one of the roads is still cut off to the project.

'If they open it up soon and there are no other issues then I feel confident we will have a strong July and be back on track like we were last year.'

Scott said officials were now discussing how to develop the land they own next to the mall.

'We are now looking at what use we can make of the land in the future, whether retail, commercial, or additional parking, it is all under study,' he said.

Scott made the comments as he spoke on the changing landscape of retail in Bahrain at the Rotary Club of Salmaniya's weekly meeting held at the Bushido restaurant in Seef yesterday.

The event was chaired by club president Rodolphe Melki and attended by Rotarians, club officials and guests.-TradeArabia News Service