UK's Shaftesbury to defer rent payments for commercial tenants

(Reuters) - Real estate company Shaftesbury <SHB.L> said it was deferring rent payments for commercial tenants until they resume trading and pointed to material uncertainty in its portfolio valuations due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The company added that March 31 valuation of its portfolio is likely to include a statement from independent valuers, highlighting a material uncertainty due to the current situation, and said it would not declare an interim dividend at its half-year results.

(Reporting by Samantha Machado in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)