Letting offices is the backbone of our business. Using every
available method of marketing – both traditional
and modern - we aim to find the best tenant as
quickly as possible and to negotiate the most
favourable terms. The same applies when acquiring
premises on behalf of clients, whether leaseholds
or freeholds.
For further information contact
any of the Partners.
We are regularly appointed
at the outset of the development process so that
we advise on all aspects of a scheme from specifications
and finishes to the likely needs of tenants and
rental levels. Our involvement takes us through
the development process, the marketing campaign
and culminates with the successful disposal of
the property.
Two high profile current
instructions are 190 Great Portland Street (a
new 80,000 sq ft office building) for Great Portland
Estates plc and the former Marks & Spencer HQ
on Baker Street where London & Regional are transforming
the building to provide more than 400,000 sq ft of Grade
‘A’ office accommodation.
For further information contact
any of the Partners.
Eagerly awaited by landlords
and a source of great worry to tenants, valuation
for rent review is an imprecise science where proper
professional representation is essential.
Assessment of market rental
to value is rooted in agency. What would the premises
let for upon the terms of a hypothetical lease
created by the wording of the lease? A successful
rent review surveyor will have first-hand knowledge
of the market value of buildings in their area
of expertise and the technical ability to assess
location, specification and lease terms by comparison
with the market evidence. You need to have the
ability to negotiate effectively in the client’s
best interest and to present evidence to arbitrators
and independent experts in an effective and honest
manner.
The Edward Charles team exemplify
these qualities.
Some of our competitors agree.
Witness the fact that over the last couple of
years, major surveyors practices Cushman & Wakefield, Healey & Baker, Drivers
Jonas and DTZ Debenham Tie Leung have retained
our services in connection with the rent reviews
of their own premises.
Other clients in 2005 include
BAE Systems Plc, Lowe & Partners, Bartle Bogle
Hegarty and MTV.
Lease expiries are opportunities
for occupiers to relocate or renew their lease.
Whilst an increasing number
of leases are ‘Outside’ the Security of Tenure
Provisions of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954
and therefore tenants have no automatic right
to a new lease, the vast majority still enjoy
the protection of the Act. Statutory lease renewals
are increasingly complex projects on which we
work with our client's solicitor often from in
excess of a year before the contractual expiry
date to ensure that proper Notices are served
to best tactical effect, application to the Court
is made and negotiations conducted with the other
side. In the event that a negotiated settlement
is not reached the matter proceeds to Court, involving
us in the preparation of expert’s reports and
the giving of oral evidence in Court.
In a volatile market a landlord
and tenant surveyor must have the confidence and
market knowledge to be able to advise a client
when to wage war and when to compromise a dispute.
They should also have the ability to think about
whether any negotiated deal can be done to enhance
both parties’ position during the renewal process.
The 2005 Rating Revaluation
came into force on 1 April 2005 and will, subject
to transitional phasing considerations, form
the basis of rates payment for 5 years from that
date.
We offer a comprehensive
rating service to clients of the Practice which
encompasses advice on rates liability and, if
appropriate, the lodging and prosecution of rating
appeals.
