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Coronavirus Hong Kong
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Hong Kong’s iconic The Peak Lookout restaurant has its rent slashed in half as pandemic wipes out international tourism

  • The owners of the eatery famed for its location are now paying less than half the monthly HK$230,000 (US$29,300) they were paying pre-pandemic
  • The restaurant closed its doors briefly last summer as the pandemic wrought devastation on industries that relied heavily on tourist revenues

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With its red, pitched roof, it has the appearance of an old English country cottage, with stone walls, arched windows and a visible chimney. Photo: Dickson Lee
Sandy Li
One of Hong Kong’s most iconic restaurants has had its rent slashed in half as the catering and tourism industries reel from a two-year absence of international visitors.
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The owners of The Peak Lookout restaurant, previously a huge draw for tourists with its prized location high above the city, are now paying less than half the monthly HK$230,000 (US$29,300) they were forking out on a lease signed in 2019, before the city effectively shut its borders to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
The once-thriving restaurant closed for several months at the end of last summer, as the city grappled with wave after wave of coronavirus infections.

A new three-year lease was granted to Modern China International on July 16 for HK$112,000 per month, or 20 per cent of gross income, whichever is greater, according to the Government Property Agency website.

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That is 51.3 per cent lower than the previous lease and 94 per cent below the eye-watering HK$1.8 million the restaurant’s operator was paying in 2006 when the city was witnessing a property boom, according to records shown on the website.
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