One of the largest landlords in the UK has broken ranks with the property industry by agreeing to end the historic requirement to pay rent quarterly in advance for all its 2,000 tenants.

Hermes, the pension fund manager that oversees £11bn of property in the UK, is to offer to scrap existing lease terms and introduce more flexible conditions, including monthly, rather than quarterly, rents. The offer is open to tenants across its retail, office and warehouse properties.