A COACH company whose income has plummeted to zero since the lockdown began in March claims the business is being "hounded" for rent for a kiosk it operates in Belfast's main shopping centre.
And Caroline McComb, director of McComb's Coaches, told the Irish News: "I bet they won't be chasing down the likes of Mike Ashley at House of Fraser the way they're chasing smaller firms like ours."
She says the quarterly rent at the small kiosk at Victoria Square is just over £7,000 - "which is peanuts compared to the big retailers in there, but is a lot when you simply haven't got any money coming in."
Belfast commercial agents Lambert Smith Hampton manages Victoria Square on behalf of its owners, the German fund Commerz Real.
Ms McComb, who helped establish the business with her husband Rodney, who was a taxi driver in Belfast during the Troubles, said: "We haven't turned a wheel since March 16, with our fleet of 13 coaches in cold storage and our 25 staff all furloughed.
"The summer season has been completely written off, and it could be 18 months before businesses like ours get back to any semblance of normality, because only then will we start seeing overseas tourists coming back to Northern Ireland.
"We're incredibly frustrated at the whole financial situation right now, having applied for both the £10,000 grant and £25,000 grant for our operations at Donegall Road and at Mallusk, to which we are entitled, but which haven't come through the system yet.
"Then to compound that, we had agents on the phone just today telling us we still need to pay full rent on our currently locked-up customer service kiosk in Victoria Square, even though we thought we could at least get a deferral."
A spokesman for Lambert Smith Hampton told the Irish News: “We understand the challenges facing all of our tenants in Victoria Square shopping centre as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and the temporary lockdown.
“We are working with our tenants to best support them through this difficult time and for legal reasons cannot discuss individual lease agreements.”
Ms McComb added: "Like so many other tourism sector operators, there is simply no business right now for coaches.
"When groups are coming to the airport, they've to get to their hotel and then to the visitor attractions. We are the people who get them to those places.
"Coach hire is a huge industry and our whole industry is being forgotten. We are being swept aside. We've lost thousands of pounds of business, yet feel nobody is supporting us."
Industry body Bus and Coach NI claims around 200 operators have seen nearly £30 million worth of bookings cancelled in the last six weeks and has appealed for more financial help from Stormont to ensure the industry's survival.
Ms McComb - whose firm has just invested £500,000 on two more top-of-the-range custom-made coaches - added: "Until our hotels are full again with international visitors, nobody is taking trips by coach to the likes of the Giant's Causeway or on Game of Thrones specials.
"Coach travel is all about groups, and right now we can't be in groups. That situation could take 18 months to resolve."
The Department for the Economy said its priority is "to do everything possible to help mitigate against the impact of Covid-19 on the economy, protect supply chains, safeguard jobs and sustain businesses".
It added: "We are aware of the wide range of businesses facing financial difficulties and are actively looking at what more might be done to close some of those remaining gaps in support."
