London — British businesses ravaged by the pandemic skipped more than £4bn in rent in 2020. With the bill coming due, a battle over sharing the pain is heating up.

Landlords, acknowledging the damage wrought by almost a year of enforced closures and depleted foot traffic, are demanding lenders bear some burden as about 20% of commercial rent is behind. Regulators are urging banks to avoid taking a hard line. Retailers and restaurateurs, hammered by the deepest recession in three centuries, say the pile of debt isn’t their fault...

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