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London W11 - 229 Portobello Road
01/Jan/2011 - A-Tenant - London W11
Acting for a Subway franchisee, I was instructed to negotiate the 2011 rent review. The landlord also owns the adjoining property let to Starbucks and we were told that the rent on renewal there had been agreed on more favourable terms in order to deter Starbucks from leaving. The landlord's surveyor proposed a hefty increase which could be softened if my Client would agree to a rising rent.
Before my Client had taken the assignment, the previous tenant had agreed the 2007 review coupled with a personal concession on rent payable. The concession expired on the 2011 review date so my Client had no choice but to pay more in any event.
After I was instructed, the landlord's suggested softening of proposed increase was withdrawn and the full market rent required which the surveyor was adamant should be based, pro-rata, on the Starbucks rent.
The lease plan states the agreed areas overall so the surveyor dismissed any idea the shop should be valued in zones. However, Portobello Road shop rents are zoned, also I discovered that the lease plan had been extracted from a shop-fit drawing that had been prepared for the previous tenant before the lease was granted and which also showed a different layout.
I proposed various figures in the hope of getting the landlord to agree and on one occasion the offer would have been accepted in principle, but I then withdrew it after new evidence came to light. By then, the landlord had implemented the dispute resolution procedure in the hope of pressuring an agreement. I concluded it would be best to allow the referral to go ahead and independent expert determine the rent.
The time-frame in the lease by which the independent expert had to determine the rent was tight and the parties would not agree to any deviation from the timetable. In my submission, I pulled out all the stops.
Much to the consternation of the landlord and its surveyor, the outcome was favourable to my Client. The passing rent before the review was £43,500 pa, the landlord's proposal £56,000 pa, and the Determination £45,700 pa.
The Lease did not require the independent expert to give reasons for the determination and he did not. After the determination was released, the landlord's surveyor sought reasons but I objected on the ground there was no benefit to my Client and the landlord capable to forming his own opinion of how the rent had been arrived at.
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Before my Client had taken the assignment, the previous tenant had agreed the 2007 review coupled with a personal concession on rent payable. The concession expired on the 2011 review date so my Client had no choice but to pay more in any event.
After I was instructed, the landlord's suggested softening of proposed increase was withdrawn and the full market rent required which the surveyor was adamant should be based, pro-rata, on the Starbucks rent.
The lease plan states the agreed areas overall so the surveyor dismissed any idea the shop should be valued in zones. However, Portobello Road shop rents are zoned, also I discovered that the lease plan had been extracted from a shop-fit drawing that had been prepared for the previous tenant before the lease was granted and which also showed a different layout.
I proposed various figures in the hope of getting the landlord to agree and on one occasion the offer would have been accepted in principle, but I then withdrew it after new evidence came to light. By then, the landlord had implemented the dispute resolution procedure in the hope of pressuring an agreement. I concluded it would be best to allow the referral to go ahead and independent expert determine the rent.
The time-frame in the lease by which the independent expert had to determine the rent was tight and the parties would not agree to any deviation from the timetable. In my submission, I pulled out all the stops.
Much to the consternation of the landlord and its surveyor, the outcome was favourable to my Client. The passing rent before the review was £43,500 pa, the landlord's proposal £56,000 pa, and the Determination £45,700 pa.
The Lease did not require the independent expert to give reasons for the determination and he did not. After the determination was released, the landlord's surveyor sought reasons but I objected on the ground there was no benefit to my Client and the landlord capable to forming his own opinion of how the rent had been arrived at.
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