Commercial Property

Purchasing a commercial property for the use of your business is a key decision which can determine how your company progresses in the upcoming future.

Our extensive legal knowledge combined with our commercial awareness enables us to give pragmatic advice that will realise your company’s vision whilst protecting your legal position.

Whether you are purchasing a freehold, a large commercial mixed use development or a leasehold unit, our highly experienced solicitors can assist you in every aspect of differing transactions including:

• Negotiating terms
• Reviewing and approving agreement for sale
• Reviewing the usual commercial searches
• Reviewing specific commercial searches such as infrastructure and energy searches
• Conducting a full due diligence on the property including reviewing tenancies, leases, and licences
• Reviewing CPSE’s
• Complying with the company’s Articles of Association requirements
• Preparing written resolutions, board minutes and director’s loan agreements
• Reviewing commercial mortgage deeds
• Drafting transfers
• Dealing with required deeds of easements
• Dealing with restrictive covenants
• Dealing with lender’s security requirements
• Registering property at the Land Registry
• Dealing with companies house formalities

Call us today to see how we can help bring your commercial vision into a successful reality.

Is your company seeking to sell its commercial premises? Whether you are selling to move into bigger premises or because you need to liquidate some assets, our commercial solicitors will be happy to assist you with every step of the process including:

• Negotiating terms of the sale
• Drafting notices to tenants and dealing with evictions
• Drafting contracts for sale
• Obtaining relevant indemnity policies
• Providing applicable commercial searches
• Assisting with replies to CPSE’s
• Replying to enquiries from the buyer’s solicitors
• Preparing written resolutions and board minutes
• Discharging existing commercial charges
• Dealing with companies house formalities

As experts in the field of commercial leases, our commercial solicitors pride themselves on their ability to amalgamate their extensive legal knowledge with their awareness of the commercial reality in the current market place.

We at Fitz Solicitors feel the most successful transactions are when you go that extra mile. When preparing or reviewing commercial leases we amongst other things consider your requirements, your visions for both the immediate and the future, your market and how you function as a business.

Our bespoke advice is tailored so that it takes on board the commercial realities and practical implications. As a result of this approach, we have built up a strong following of returning clients whose businesses are continually well looked after.

We can assist with:

• Negotiating Heads of Terms
• Drafting and reviewing commercial leases of a whole or part
• Preparing and reviewing rent deposit deeds
• Dealing with Landlord’s Notice in respect of exclusion of tenure
• Preparing Statutory Declarations
• Dealing with schedules of dilapidations
• Providing and reviewing CPSE’s
• Register long leases at the Land Registry

Call us today to arrange a free consultation to see how we can help your business.

Licences can be more appropriate where a commercial premise is to be let on a short-term basis.

Licences are used more commonly between exchange and completion, serviced offices or as a concession within large stores.

Unfortunately, some are not aware that the occupation of a licensee can be precarious as a licence does not create an interest in land. Our team at Fitz Solicitors will review the licence agreement in view of our commercial context to ensure you are achieving the most secure and cost efficient deal.

We have significant experience in:

• Licence to occupy commercial properties
• Licence to share occupation
• Licence to use a route over land
• Car parking licence
• Service occupancy agreements
• Sitting-out licence
• Grazing Licence

Whatever your business, sometimes a licence will be more appropriate to your circumstances. Call us today for a free consultation to ensure your position is safeguarded.

With commercial leases come rent deposit deeds. A rent deposit deed is a document which will outline the tenant and landlord’s rights with regards to the tenancy deposit.

Sometimes the rent deposit deed can be overlooked by the lease itself however the terms of the rent deposit deed are just as imperative and will dictate how and when the tenant’s deposit can be secured, used and returned.

We will consider:

• Landlord’s duties to protect the deposit
• Interest provisions
• Circumstances in which a withdrawal is permitted
• Top of deposits
• Repayments of deposits
• What will happen if there is a sale of reversion
• Costs
• Rights of re-entry
• Any guarantor’s obligations
• Indemnities
• Deed of assignment of rent deposits
• Rent deposit deeds under a charge

Call us today for a free consultation to see how we can help you and your business.

One of the most common disputes between tenants and landlords in a commercial premises is the state and condition of the premises both during the tenancy and more saliently, at the end of the tenancy. The majority of claims for breach of tenant’s covenants arise from a breach to return the premises to the landlord in an acceptable condition. But what is an ‘acceptable’ condition? For every client, this will mean different things depending on the use of the premises and the business of our clients.

That is why we tailor each lease to reflect our client’s specific requirements both in the interim and in 10/15 years’ time when the lease is to expire.

A Schedule of Dilapidations will show the current state of the premises and list the defects from the outset. The lease will often refer to the schedule and the tenants will use this when returning the premises to ensure it is in as good a condition or better than it was first received. Providing a schedule will often lead to far fewer disputes at the end of a tenancy.

We can assist in:

• Arranging for a schedule to be produced
• Providing adequate provisions within the lease
• Dealing with breach of covenants
• Terminal dilapidations claims (on behalf of tenant or landlord)

Call us today to see how we can help you.

In the majority of long commercial leases, there are specific provisions with regards to rent reviews. With quite a volatile market, some clients find it a little difficult to ascertain whether they are agreeing the ‘best deal’ for the security of their future.

A rent review provision has a powerful ability to make or break a business if not drafted suitably.

We have extensive experience in:

• Preparing rent review notices
• Preparing rent review counter notices
• Negotiating fixed rents when up for review
• Indexed rent review based on RPI
• Market review rent clauses
• Liaising with 3^rd parties such as surveyors

Our commercial solicitors pride themselves on their ability to get to know each client and their businesses to determine the right terms. Our objective is not only to consider the present but to consider the eventualities your business could face in the future and to safeguard your position as much as physically possible.

Call us today to arrange a free consultation to discuss your rent review.

We pride ourselves on the number of repeat developers who use us for our extensive knowledge in dealing with secured and mezzanine funding with regards to their commercial/residential developments.

Where you are looking to secure funding to finance your business plans and growth, we will be able to assist in each step of the matter including:

• Dealing with lender’s securities requirements
• Advising on director’s personal guarantees
• Preparing tenancy agreements and licences
• Obtaining relevant indemnity policies
• Dealing with restrictive covenants
• Drafting deeds of easements
• Reviewing facility agreements
• Preparing facility agreements to include:

• Nature and purpose
• Repayment profile
• Interest rates
• Conditions precedent
• Monitoring
• Covenants
• Cross-default provisions
• Exit provisions

Call our commercial team today to see how we can help secure your lending in the most expedient and cost efficient way.

There are a number of contracts which can be drawn up which are conditional on future events for example, contract for sale conditional on obtaining relevant planning permission.

We appreciate that great business opportunities do not come around often. Our clients often look to reserve potential investment without committing themselves until they can ensure their investment will be secured.

We have extensive experience in dealing with:

• Negotiating conditional contract terms
• Preparing conditional contracts to include:

• Conditions
• Risk and insurance provisions
• Planning provisions
• Planning appeals
• Third party applications
• Reporting
• Co-operation of the seller
• Approval of planning permission and CIL
• Right to waive conditions
• Disputes
• Term and long stop dates
• Calculation and purchase price provisions
• Matters affecting the property
• Transfer
• Capital allowance elections
• Termination

A conditional contract will provide the opportunity to reserve their potential investment whilst they progress matters by obtaining planning permission or securing financing. Call us today to arrange a free consultation to see if this the right option for you and your business.

An option agreement is made between the owner of the land and a developer who wishes to purchase the land subject to obtaining planning permission.

Whether you are a first time developer or a professional developer, the agreement can be as complex or as simple as you require and can include:

• planning obligations
• undertakings
• conditions
• restrictions
• option conditions
• purchase price conditions
• extensions on option dates

The agreement will provide security to the buyer knowing they will have the option to purchase the land on attainment of the planning permission.

Please contact us today to see how this can help you.

An overage agreement will allow a seller a share in any increase in the property’s value after the property has been sold and can be dependent on a number of factors. This is common for example when the buyer has obtained planning permission. Our team has vast experience in different overage provisions to best suit the needs of individual clients and the land.

Below are just some of the overages we have dealt with:

• positive overage – payable on disposal of the land
• positive overage – payable on grant of planning permission
• positive overage – payable on implementation of planning permission
• positive overage – based on proceeds of sale

Please contact us to find out how we assist to ensure your position is well protected.

A deed of easement grants a right to someone to use another’s land/property for a specified purpose.

A deed of easement can be used for a vast range of purposes including for:

• underground service media
• General rights
• Rights of way
• Overhead service media
• Overhanging eaves

Where properties are newly built, it is likely that some of the estate roads have not been adopted by the local authority and is still owned by the developer. Easements granting rights of way to and from your property are some of the most imperative rights which can be easily missed and not picked up until a large demand for maintenance contribution is suddenly invoiced.

To prevent any unwanted surprises contact us today to see how we can ensure that your rights are formally and properly documented.

As the name suggests a restrictive covenant restricts you from specific activities on a specified land/property.  Some covenants are essential whilst others have been obsolete over the years.

Unfortunately most people are not fully aware of the covenants affecting their titles until they are faced with a notice of breach. Restrictive covenants can include anything from covenants not to make too much noise to prohibiting any alterations or developments without requiring consent from the person enforcing the covenant. This can be time consuming and an unnecessary burden.

Conversely, if you are looking to sell a number of plots in a large estate, you want to ensure the area will be looked upon favourably by potential investors so as to not detrimentally affect your business.

When it comes to restrictive covenants we can:

• Highlight the covenants affecting the land/property
• Preparing release of covenants
• Preparing deeds of covenants
• Registering covenants at the Land Registry

Call us today to discuss any issues you may have with regards to restrictive covenants.

Deeds of assignments can relate to a number of deeds such as leases and contracts. Though some of the deeds strictly prohibit assignments, it can be permitted under specific conditions. Most commonly is an assignment of lease.

A deed of assignment will allow the assignor to assign its rights and liabilities to a third-party assignee.

Our commercial team have experience in dealing with:

• Assignment of lease
• Assignment of rent deposit
• Assignment of loan
• Assignment of contract
• Assignment of construction documents
• Assignment of goodwill
• Assignment of intellectual property
• Assignment of legal and equitable interest in land
• assignment of benefit of an option

Call our team today to arrange a free consultation to discuss your rights, liabilities and abilities to assign.

With more and more landlords letting their properties, following the correct procedures for a new tenant is absolutely vital. By missing one step you run the risk of facing heavy penalties.

As of 1 October 2015, a landlord must provide their tenants with a number of other documentation as well as a valid tenancy agreement including a Gas Safe Certificate, Energy Performance Certificate and providing the prescribed information and deposit protection details.

Different tenancies will have different requirements for example houses in multiple occupation (HMO’s) will require fire safety measurements in place.

The courts will look heavily unfavourably upon landlords who fail to follow the correct procedures. If you then need to evict a tenant who has defaulted on the tenancy agreement, this will be a much more difficult and expensive struggle.

If you feel that your landlord is not complying with their obligations, please contact us to find out how we can assist.

Where you are looking to rent out your property and looking to move into a rented accommodation, we can assist in:

• Preparing a full and valid tenancy agreement
• Placing a deposit in a protection scheme
• Advising of your obligations and rights
• Advising of the documentation required on a new tenancy
• Serving notice on a tenant to remedy a breach
• Serving notice on a tenant to quit
• Serving notice of transfer and rent authority letters

Call us today to ensure you are fully compliant and that your position is legally protected

Unfortunately there may come a time when your tenant defaults on a provision within their tenancy agreement. If the breach is not remedied, landlords are left with no other option than apply to the courts for an eviction.

The process of eviction will depend upon whether the landlord has fully complied with their obligations during the commencement of the tenancy agreement and throughout the term.

The process can be lengthy and expensive. Where you have fully discharged your obligations and have proof of this, the process will be much more streamlined.

If you require an eviction of your tenant we can help by:

• Serving a notice to vacate
• Serving a notice to evict
• Applying to the courts for an eviction order
• Debt recovery
• Liaising with bailiffs
• Applying to the high court
• Liaising with high court enforcement officers
• Preparing settlement agreements

We understand that dealing with a defaulting tenant can be very stressful, here at Fitz we act efficiently and promptly to ensure the matter is resolved amicably and as cost efficient as possible.

Though this may seem trivial, these are some of the biggest rights enjoyed by land owners and which can dramatically affect the value of your investment.

Rights of light and air are exactly as described – the right to enjoy air coming to your property and daylight hitting your property.

This is paramount to developers. Where you are offering say new build flats with unparalled views for a premium, this premium will completely diminish, along with your investment when those views are then obstructed by another developer building on the land next to yours.

Rights to light and air can greatly deter or attract investors and is a salient legal point to consider.

Contact us today to see how we can provide:

• An overview of your current rights
• How rights of air and light can be created
• How they can be avoided
• And how to terminate such rights

Plot sales differ slightly from property sales. We at Fitz understand that each plot is purchased for a specific reason and we can ensure that the transaction fully suits those specific requirements.

Whether you are purchasing the plot to develop on or to sell on, we will guide you through the relevant steps.

Plot sales and purchases can include:

• New builds and preparing new build sales packs
• Conditional contracts
• Off plan agreements
• Financing

Our aim is to provide pragmatic and efficient solutions to any challenges which may arise and pride ourselves on the number of satisfied repeat customers.

Businesses have a duty to comply with Environmental and Health and Safety laws. These can relate to:

• Pollution or contamination of the environment
• Hazardous substance or waste presence, disposal or leak
• Exposure to hazardous substances
• Noise, vibration, odour, radiation or nuisance
• Health and safety of employees

We can assist in advising on your investigating environmental issues, explaining your legal obligations, drafting environmental provisions and dealing with civil sanctions

Call us today to discuss any environmental legal issues you may be facing.

As the name suggests, an exclusivity agreement will provide you with an exclusive right to something within a specified period of time for a financial consideration. This is most common in high worth transactions where a buyer does not wish to incur transactional and legal fees without an assurance that no other offers will be accepted.

An exclusivity agreement can include:

• Sellers obligations to provide the pre-contractual documentation as soon as possible
• Purchasers obligations to purchase subject to certain provisions
• Rights of termination
• Remedies
• Agreed purchase price

An exclusivity agreement will provide security to buyers and sellers alike by ‘locking out’ any potential outbidders and will ensure a swift transaction for the sellers.

Call us today to discuss exclusivity agreements in more detail.