Small is Best with Significant Rent Saving

Our Property team have just agreed a significant rent saving on a client’s 1,190 sq ft office outside Norwich.

The landlord was proposing to increase the rent from £13,685 pa to £15,500 pa when the client’s lease expired during October 2009.  We were asked to investigate and negotiate a renewal as a priority and after a site visit and discussions with the landlord, we were able to identify smaller more suitable premises in the same building and also elsewhere.

Rather than risk losing their client, the landlord was prepared to agree a reduced rent of £8,325 pa.  With accompanying reduced rates and savings liability, the year 1 savings are over £10,000 pa, plus we have agreed annual lease breaks.

Furthermore, we were able to ensure that the relocation from the existing space was free of any dilapidations liability, creating a saving of over £10,000 in additional costs.

A new lease has already been agreed and the business will be moving in the New Year.

The moral is that there may be opportunities to save significant costs on property even with relatively low annual costs.