Commercial Property & Planning

Commercial leases and ancillary documentation

We can draft, negotiate, and agree commercial leases for both landlord and tenant clients – together with ancillary documentation, such as Agreements for Lease, Licences for Alterations and Rent Deposit Deeds.

Your commercial lease will form the foundation of your relationship with your landlord or tenant, so it is essential to get all the details right. A well-drafted lease doesn’t just give you a clear outline of your rights and responsibilities, but it can also streamline your dealings with your landlord or tenant, saving you time and even helping you avoid disputes.

Our commercial lease solicitors will use our personal understanding of your business to negotiate and draft the strongest possible conditions for you. Making sure your legal interests are represented and protected.

Leasehold assignments and subletting

There are many reasons why you may need to leave your leasehold property. Whether you have outgrown your business premises, the costs are too much, or you are selling your business. A leasehold assignment or subletting could allow you to pass the lease to another third party.

We can advise both the landlord and tenant clients in respect of leasehold assignments (including drafting, negotiating, and agreeing ancillary documentation, such as Licences to Assign and Authorised Guarantee Agreements).

Our commercial leasehold solicitors can also advise on subletting; including negotiating and drafting Sublease Agreements.

Commercial tenants should be aware that they will likely need their landlord’s permission before assigning or subletting a lease. We can provide advice on negotiating consent and satisfying any relevant conditions.

Buying and selling commercial property

We can advise upon the acquisition and disposal of freehold and leasehold commercial property by charity, company, individual and organisational clients.

Our commercial property lawyers will handle every legal aspect of the transaction on your behalf, with expert advice on complex commercial property transactions, such as:

• Advice for charities and non-profits about buying and selling commercial property
• Buying and selling at auction
• Buying and selling development land
• Expanding property portfolios

We have handled transactions for a wide variety of commercial property types, including offices, retail premises, leisure & hospitality premises, warehouses, and industrial land.

Commercial mortgages and secured lending

Our commercial property lawyers can advise on the terms of commercial mortgages and secured lending facilities over freehold and leasehold commercial property for charity, company, individual and organisational clients. We also act solely for specialist financial institutions and lenders in the provision of such facilities.

Specialist advice for corporate trustees and beneficiaries

We can advise SASS/SIPP corporate trustees and their beneficiary clients in relation to the acquisition, disposal and leasing of freehold and leasehold commercial property which is currently or intended to be legally owned by the SASS/SIPP vehicle.

Specialist advice for directors about personal guarantees

Our Commercial Property team can advise company and organisational directors and individuals in respect of the terms of personal guarantees (and other security documentation) to support third-party secured banking and loan facilities to their companies.

We will ensure you are fully aware of the legal implications of providing a personal guarantee, including potential liability, should the business become insolvent. Advice will also be offered on the operative terms of the personal guarantees and the way the personal guarantee will apply to the wider commercial terms of the transaction it is designed to support.

Residential plot sales

Whether you have built a house or small estate on some previously open land or are an established developer working on your latest development of hundreds of properties, we can provide advice and guidance with regards to selling those properties, protecting the interest of both the buyers and the surrounding estate.

We advise builders and developers of all sizes upon plot sales within small-medium-sized residential developments, including drafting, negotiating, and agreeing ancillary contract packs and sale documentation.

New build freehold and leasehold advice

We can advise upon the acquisition by company, individual and organisational clients of new-build freehold and leasehold property.

Our commercial new build solicitors have experience handling the unique and sometimes complicated legal factors, which often affect this type of transaction; including access rights, public adoption of highways, drainage and public utilities and discharge of planning conditions.

Overage and clawback

Our commercial property solicitors can advise on the commercial terms of overage clawback agreements in respect of freehold and leasehold land, including drafting, negotiating, and agreeing the terms and conditions of the Overage Deed and ancillary documentation. We can also look at the operation of the mechanism to trigger any overage payments and alternative dispute resolution options where the parties cannot agree on a particular overage calculation.

With extensive experience handling these types of commercial property agreements, you can trust that your interests will be protected and that the obligations will be legally enforceable.

Option agreements and conditional contracts

Your business might find itself in a position whereby you want the comfort of knowing you are legally entitled to a new lease but don't want to commit until such time that you have secured planning permission for a change of use.  Alternatively, you might be looking to acquire bare land upon which to build property, however, do not want to be committed to the purchase until planning permission has been granted to allow that construction.

Depending on the circumstances of what form of document is most appropriate in the transaction, we can advise on the commercial terms of both option agreements and conditional contracts (including drafting, negotiating, and agreeing the related ancillary documentation).  Whether you want the contractual assurance that completion will occur within a set number of days from a particular trigger event or the flexibility to exercise an exclusive option over the land within a set timeframe, our specialist commercial solicitors will be able to assist with advising you on the most suitable approach.

Any other complex or unusual commercial conveyancing transaction

Our expert team can advise upon other complex or novel commercial and residential conveyancing transactions, requiring in-depth and tailored specialist advice.