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SOLICITOR
IN CHARGE: Mr T.P FitzPatrick
We
act in relation to the buying and selling of all types of Commercial,
Industrial and Agricultural property including Development
land.
Hourly
rate rather than fixed fees will apply. Please make an application
for an estimate on the commercial sale
& purchase quotation forms provided and in particular complete
the further information section to enable us to give as good an
estimate as possible . We may need to contact you on the telephone
to discuss this further.
"Location,
Location, Location"
This
famous definition describes the most important matters to be taken
into account when looking for new business premises.
Professionals
may disagree. Accountants will wonder about the impact of
exorbitant rent and outgoings on the profitability of a
business. Surveyors may be concerned at the extent of the
repairs to be done. Solicitors will consider the whole package
that is on offer. The package needs to be marketable,
commercial and fit for the occupier's purposes.
Sometimes,
businesses take a year or more to move locations. They find
premises which seem to be perfect. When they look at the
Lease, they find that costs and other burdens make the premises
wholly impractical. Perhaps Landlords are not always aware of
how Leases affect marketability.
In
all business premises, planning considerations are vital. The
permitted use may not be what the future occupier wants; or it may
be what the occupier wants but the working hours may be restricted
by the planning authority. Or there may be other conditions
attached to the planning consent which interface with the business
activities - one example is that the consent is restricted to a
named business and another, more important in days when light
industrial use is needed for farm buildings, is that the use must be
associated with agriculture. The client needs to decide
whether to go through the business of applying for a new, more
useful, planning consent. As this will have more immediate
benefit to the landowner than the client, there are clearly issues
requiring legal expertise where FitzPatricks will be pleased to
help.
FREEHOLDS
These
are the best business premises but they can cost a lot, which means
they can tie up a lot of capital. A mortgage is often
possible. If one can be arranged, it is usually a lot cheaper
than escalating rents brought about by rent review provisions in a
Lease. Freeholds can also be beneficial if purchased by the
trustees if on the company's pension scheme.
EXISTING
LEASES
Usually,
no changes can be made to existing Leases except where the landlord
licences a change of use. Even this can be an expensive
business if the consent of a superior landlord or a mortgagee is
also necessary and their surveyors and solicitors have to be
paid. Then the client needs to know that the rest of the Lease
measures up to the same requirements which can be negotiated when a
new Lease is available.
Existing
Underleases are a particular hazard as they incorporate the terms of
the existing Head Lease, including rent review provisions, which
seldom allow the rent to go down. Where rents have declined,
this presents big problems.
NEW
LEASES
These
are some of many matters which are worth negotiating in a
"Buyers Market":-
-
Dont
take on the whole structure. Keep repair obligations down
by being responsible for the interior. Even if repairs are
part of the service charge, it is better to keep working at the
business than being distracted by supervising building works.
-
Be
prepared to ask for a break clause. This is usually at 3
yearly intervals and is triggered by a notice served on the
Landlord between three and six months from the break date.
If there is a rent review, the trigger date for the rent review
should be earlier than the trigger date for the break.
-
Make
sure any changes of use are approved before you are committed.
-
Resist,
in a buyer's market, being committed to pay the Landlord's
fees. Also resist having to guarantee a Limited Company's
obligations. The first of these can be achieved very
easily. The second can be more difficult. A third,
which may well be worth a shot, is to ask that rent can go down
on reviews as well as up when the market goes down.
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