Guide to leasing

We let a broad mix, not just big industrial sheds. That includes shops and retail units, offices, workshops and industrial units, warehouses and storage, restaurants and takeaways, and small lock-ups and garages. Sizes run from a single lock-up through to larger warehouse and trade units, so it is worth telling us what you do rather than only what size you think you need. We can often suggest something you had not considered.

Think about the space your business needs in two or three years, not just today. Moving is disruptive and expensive, so a little headroom usually pays for itself. If you need any office or staff space alongside a workshop or store, factor that in from the start. Adding it later is normally more expensive than taking it at the outset.

Lease lengths vary with the property and the landlord. Longer terms often bring a lower rent or better incentives, but they tie you in. Shorter terms cost more per year but keep your options open. Ask about a break clause, which is a right for one or both sides to end the lease early on a set date. Breaks almost always come with strict conditions, so read them carefully before you rely on one.

Layout matters as much as floor area. Ceiling height, column positions, the shape of the space, door widths and floor loading all affect what you can practically do. A tall unit can be good value if you can rack upwards, because you pay for floor area rather than height. An awkwardly shaped unit may be cheaper and still work perfectly well for what you need.

Location affects your customers, your deliveries and your ability to recruit. For retail, footfall and neighbouring businesses matter most. For trade and industrial use, access, parking and proximity to main roads usually matter more. We manage property across the UK, with the deepest coverage in the North West, the West Midlands, and Yorkshire and the Humber.

Tell us early if you need three phase power, heavy floor loading, extraction, a roller shutter, a grease trap, high security or anything else out of the ordinary. These narrow the options considerably. It is much cheaper to rule a property out at the enquiry stage than to discover the problem after solicitors are instructed.

Commercial properties carry a planning use class that governs what can legally happen there. A unit set up for storage will not automatically be suitable for a gym, a nursery or a hot food takeaway. Check the permitted use before you commit. Where a change is needed you may require planning permission, and the lease will normally need the landlord to agree to the use as well.

Plan for a deposit, business rates, VAT, service charge where there is one, insurance, utilities and waste, your own repairs, professional fees, and the cost of fitting the place out. As a rough guide, the true monthly cost of occupying a unit is usually meaningfully more than the rent alone. Working that out before you sign is the single most useful thing you can do.

Most landlords ask for a deposit, commonly the equivalent of three to six months' rent, paid at the start alongside the first rent payment. The amount depends on the strength of your business and its trading history. A newer company, or one without accounts, is often asked for more. A guarantor is sometimes accepted as an alternative.

Business rates are the commercial equivalent of council tax and are paid to the local authority, not to the landlord. They are based on the property's rateable value. If the rateable value is below £15,000 you may qualify for small business rate relief, and below £12,000 you may pay nothing at all. You can look up the rateable value of any commercial property on the Government's website before you commit, and it is worth doing that before you make an offer.

Many commercial landlords charge VAT on rent and service charge, though not all. If your business is VAT registered you can usually reclaim it, but it still affects your cash flow between paying and reclaiming. If your business is not VAT registered, VAT is a real additional cost, so establish early whether the property is opted to tax.

Service charge is your share of running and maintaining the parts of a building or estate that everybody uses, such as access roads, yards, lighting, landscaping, communal areas and shared systems. It applies where a property is part of a larger building or estate, and not on a standalone unit. It can be a fixed sum or variable. Where it is variable you should receive a statement each year showing what was actually spent, and whether there is a balance to pay or a credit due.

The landlord normally insures the structure and recharges the premium to you, usually once a year in advance. You should receive a copy of the policy on renewal. That cover is for the building only. You still need your own contents insurance, public liability cover, and any policies specific to your trade.

Dilapidations are the cost of putting the property back into the condition your lease requires when you leave. It is the cost most tenants forget to budget for. A Schedule of Condition, which is a photographic record of the state of the property on day one, can cap that liability so you are not paying to improve on what you were given. Not every landlord will agree to one, but it is always worth asking, and it is far easier to agree at the start than to argue at the end.

Budget for your own solicitor to review the lease, and consider a surveyor for a condition survey or a Schedule of Condition. On some transactions you may also be asked to contribute towards the landlord's legal costs. These are easy to overlook and are worth building into your figures from the outset. Skipping legal advice on a commercial lease is a false economy, because the obligations run for the whole term.

We charge an application fee of £500 plus VAT, payable when you apply for a property. There is no charge for viewing a property we are marketing. Other costs can apply on a particular deal, such as a contribution to the landlord's legal fees, and those are set out in the heads of terms before anything is signed. If anything about the numbers is unclear, ask us and we will talk it through.

Our available commercial property is listed on the site and updated from our management system through the day. You can filter by area, size, type and price. If nothing fits, tell us what you are after anyway. We manage a large portfolio and units come back to us regularly, often before they are advertised.

Look past the space itself. Check the condition of the roof, doors, floor and services. Try the power supply and ask what capacity is available. Look at where you would load and unload, and whether a delivery vehicle can actually get in and turn. Check parking, and be honest about how much of it is really yours. Look at the neighbouring occupiers and think about whether your use sits comfortably alongside them.

If you can, yes. Visiting at a busy time of day shows you things a quiet mid-morning viewing will not, such as congestion in a shared yard, parking pressure, or noise from a neighbour. For retail, standing outside at different times gives you a far better sense of footfall than any set of figures.

Ask what the lease length and break options are, who is responsible for which repairs, whether there is a service charge and what it has cost recently, whether VAT applies, what the rateable value is, and how quickly the unit is available. Also ask what condition the unit will be handed over in, and whether anything is being done to it before you take it. Get the answers in writing where they matter.

Tell us what you are proposing on rent, term, break rights and start date, along with anything you want the landlord to do or contribute towards. Put it in writing so there is no ambiguity. Rent is not the only negotiable point, and often not the most valuable one. A rent free period, a contribution towards your works, or a well placed break clause can be worth more to you than a small reduction in the headline rent.

Heads of terms are a short summary of what both sides have agreed, covering rent, term, break dates, deposit, repairing obligations, any rent free period and any landlord contribution. They are usually not legally binding, but they set the shape of the deal. This is the point at which to raise anything you want. Once solicitors are working to agreed terms, reopening a point is slow and can cost you goodwill.

Yes. A commercial lease is a long term financial commitment with obligations that bind your business for the full term, and there is no consumer protection of the kind you get with a home. Use a solicitor with commercial property experience. Ask them specifically about repairing liability, break conditions, and what happens at the end of the term.

Expect to provide company details, trading history or accounts, bank details and identity documents for the directors. This is a mix of ordinary referencing and legally required anti money laundering checks. Newer businesses are not a problem in themselves. Where there is limited trading history, a larger deposit or a guarantor is often the answer.

It varies with the complexity of the deal and how quickly both solicitors work. A straightforward letting on standard terms is quicker than one involving a licence for alterations, a change of use or a superior landlord's consent. If you have a date you need to be trading by, say so at the start so it can be planned for rather than chased.

You will normally pay the first rent, the deposit and any insurance or service charge due in advance before completion. Once funds and the signed documents are in place, we arrange handover. Take meter readings and photographs on the day, and set up your utility accounts straight away. It is a small job that avoids a lot of argument later.

You do. Commercial units are generally let as they stand, and getting the space ready for your business is the tenant's responsibility and cost. That covers your layout, fixtures, racking, signage, flooring, decoration, IT and anything specific to your trade. Budget for it properly. Fit-out is often the largest single cost of moving in, and it is the one most often underestimated.

Sometimes, and it is always worth asking. Where a landlord is willing to help, it usually takes one of two forms. Either a rent free period at the start, giving you time to do the works before rent begins, or a contribution towards specific costs, normally against quotes you provide. Anything of this kind has to be agreed as part of the heads of terms, before solicitors are instructed. It is very difficult to introduce once terms are agreed, so raise it while the deal is still being negotiated.

Almost certainly. Most leases require the landlord's written consent for alterations, usually through a document called a licence for alterations. Structural work, changes to services, and anything affecting the outside of the building will need consent. Separately, you may need planning permission or building regulations approval from the council. Consent from your landlord is not the same as consent from the local authority, and you may need both. Starting work without them can put you in breach of your lease.

Usually yes, with consent, and often subject to a house style on estates or parades where a consistent look is expected. Some signage also needs advertisement consent from the council. Agree the position and size before you order anything, because sign-making is not cheap to redo.

Often, yes. Consent for alterations frequently comes with a requirement to reinstate, meaning to put the property back as it was when you leave. When you are agreeing a licence for alterations, ask which items must be removed at the end and which can stay. Getting that in writing at the time is much cheaper than negotiating it under pressure years later.

You do, and you are responsible for their work, their insurance and their conduct on site. The landlord will normally want to see that your contractors carry appropriate public liability cover before work begins. On a shared building or estate, agree access, working hours and waste removal in advance so the work does not disrupt other occupiers.

The landlord normally insures the building and deals with any building insurance claims. Where there is a service charge, they are responsible for managing the shared parts of the building or estate and accounting for what has been spent. Beyond that, it depends on your lease. On many commercial leases the landlord's day to day obligations are narrower than tenants expect, which is why the repairing clause matters so much.

Typically your own contents and public liability insurance, your utilities and waste, business rates, and compliance with the rules that apply to your trade, including health and safety. Repairs depend on your lease. Many commercial leases are Full Repairing and Insuring, usually shortened to FRI, which means the repairing burden sits largely with you. Depending on the wording that can extend to items such as the roof, the heating and things that were already worn when you arrived. Have your solicitor explain exactly what yours covers.

Report it through our repairs portal so it is logged and tracked, and there is a record of when it was raised. Anything that is an immediate safety risk, such as a gas leak or a total loss of power, should be phoned through straight away rather than logged online. If you are not sure whether a repair is yours or the landlord's, report it anyway and we will confirm.

Every property we manage has a named property manager rather than a general call centre. They handle your lease, your rent and the building. If you do not know who yours is, get in touch and we will put you in touch with them.

Rent is usually paid monthly or quarterly in advance, as set out in your lease. Quarterly payment dates on commercial leases often fall on the traditional quarter days, so check your lease rather than assuming it runs from the date you moved in. You can pay online at any time through the payment page on this site.

Tell us before the payment date rather than after it. Missed rent on a commercial lease can lead to enforcement action, and in serious cases to forfeiture, which means losing the property. Where there is a genuine short term problem, landlords will often consider a temporary arrangement. That conversation is far easier to have early, and while the account is not already in arrears.

Most leases allow it with the landlord's consent, and set conditions. Assignment means transferring the whole lease to another business. Subletting means letting part or all of the space to someone else while you remain the tenant. Both need consent in advance. Doing either without it is a breach of the lease. If you are considering a move or a restructure, speak to us early and we will tell you what is possible.

Speak to us. We manage a large portfolio, so where a different unit is available we can sometimes move a tenant rather than lose them. That is not guaranteed and it is not something the lease obliges anyone to do, but it happens more often than people expect. The earlier you raise it, the more options there tend to be.

Only if your lease contains a break clause, which is a right to end it on a specified date. Break clauses are applied strictly. You will normally need to give notice in a particular form, by a particular date, and often to have paid all rent and complied with your obligations. Miss a condition and the break can fail, leaving you committed for the rest of the term. Get legal advice before serving a break notice, not after.

You can leave, or you may be able to renew. Many business tenancies carry a statutory right to renew under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, though some leases are set up outside that protection, which is referred to as being contracted out. Check which applies to you, because it changes your position considerably. Your lease or your solicitor will tell you.

At the natural end of a lease formal notice is not always required, but telling us in good time is sensible and gives you more options. If you want to renew, raise it early. Renewal terms are easier to agree with time in hand, and a landlord who does not know your plans may start marketing the unit.

Deal with repairs and any reinstatement your lease requires, clear the property completely, and take final meter readings. Close or transfer your utility and waste contracts so you are not billed after you have gone. Get the property inspected before you leave rather than after. It is nearly always cheaper to put something right yourself than to have it done for you and charged on.

Start early. Read the repairing and reinstatement clauses a good few months before the end, and get advice on what is genuinely required rather than guessing. If a Schedule of Condition was agreed at the start, dig it out, because it defines the standard you have to meet. Doing the work yourself, to a sensible standard, is usually cheaper than a settlement.