Hammerson, owner of the Bullring and Brent Cross shopping centres, has warned it will need to sell more of its property empire to survive the coronavirus crisis, after reporting a record £1.7bn loss for 2020. The property group, which also owns the Bicester Village designer outlet, said the closure of non-essential shops during lockdowns and the suspension of rent payments for struggling retailers in 2020 fuelled the biggest annual fall in rental income in company history. Annual losses more than doubled from £781m in 2019 to £1.7bn last year. “As our results show, Hammerson was hit hard,” said Rita-Rose Gagne, the Hammerson chief executive. “Our immediate focus in 2021 is leading Hammerson through Covid-19 to safety. This means further disposals to strengthen the balance sheet, managing refinancing, and sharpening our operations to maximise income.” The value of its property portfolio plunged by almost £2bn, another record fall – from £8.32bn to £6.33bn – including a 36% decline across its flagship UK retail destinations. The company said part of the decline in the value of its portfolio was also due to the sale of some assets. Net rental income fell 41% to £157.6m, prompted by store closures, tenant restructuring deals and higher provisions for bad debt and tenant incentives. So far Hammerson has collected 76% of 2020 rent due. Earlier this week, the government extended a ban on evicting commercial tenants until the end of June, which landlords have said makes it harder to collect rent from those that can pay but do not. The company said it has made £73m selling minority stakes in Brent South Shopping Park and two French joint ventures. The news of the latest disposals satisfied investors, pushing Hammerson’s share price up nearly 5% by lunchtime on Friday to 34p. However, the share price has fallen more than 50% in the past year. The longer-term outlook remains less certain. “We are currently working on a thorough strategic and organisational review that will map out a route to future growth and transform the business in the context of what will remain a tough economic and structural backdrop,” said Gagne, who was made CEO in November. “Hammerson provides the places and social infrastructure where people want and need to be, and I am confident it will have a vital role in shaping neighbourhoods and communities in the future.” The business has been battling to cut its debt burden. In 2020 it reduced its £2.2bn debt by £609m, after raising more than £800m over the past year through the sale of assets and a rights issue. Robert Duncan, an analyst at Numis, said investors would be “disappointed” that Hammerson’s new management have not yet completed a strategic review of the business. “Today’s results were never about the earnings performance … it was never in doubt that 2020 was going to be one of the toughest years on record,” said Duncan, in a note to investors. “But rather [it was] about any proposed changes the new CEO intended to make to group strategy. On that basis, the market will likely be disappointed as, despite having joined the group in November, the strategic review remains ongoing. In our view, this is a missed opportunity.” Hammerson is taking action to try to avoid the same fate as its rival Intu Properties, whose shopping malls include Lakeside in Essex, the Trafford Centre in Manchester and Gateshead’s Metrocentre. Intu collapsed into administration in June after the heavily indebted group failed to reach an agreement with its creditors. Hammerson hopes to reopen its portfolio of malls, retail parks and designer outlets by mid-April.