Top Ten Credit Crunch Tips for Leasing Commercial Properties in London

1)    Negotiate rents – in this current buyer led market landlords have to ensure that their pricing is competitive to stop their commercial property from being left empty.  As a potential tenant you should be able to negotiate lower rents for your business in key London locations.

2)    Look for increased inducements – rent free periods are now generally an automatic feature for most office lettings.  Take advantage of the fact that during this economic downturn landlords are supplying increased inducements and incentives in order to entice you to choose their commercial property over another.

3)    Capped service charges – now more than ever before businesses have to keep an eye on costs and run to strict, nonnegotiable budgets.  By asking your landlord for capped service charges you will be able to keep an eye on costs and have the comfort of fixing your expenditure on the servicing of the building.

4)    Arrange shorter lease agreements –during these unpredictable times you are no doubt wary of taking on too many financial commitments.  More and more companies are looking for short-term rent agreements with short-term lets increasing by over 80% in the last few months alone.  It is now not uncommon for businesses to take up contracts of around eighteen months when in the past this figure could have been anything from ten to twenty years!

5)    Lock-out agreement – with the ever increasing credit crunch focus on cost cutting businesses have no wish to waste money on a property only to be gazumped by another tenant before the contract is in place.  By asking your potential landlord for a lock-out agreement you will gain the security of knowing that you have an exclusive period to complete.

6)    Take advantage of market conditions – a recent report by the Daily Telegraph found that most tenants are able to find London offices quicker and with fewer viewings than ever before, saving valuable time and resources.

7)    Recession bargains – take advantage of the credit crunch.  Exclusive areas such as Mayfair and St James have seen sharp rent declines due to the economic impact on the hedge fund industry.

8)    Live the London lifestyle, for less – Marylebone in particular is attracting cost-cutting tenants who still want a prime central London lifestyle without the high prices.

9)    Ask for detailed information – the current tenant led market means there is now almost too much choice for you in regards to which commercial property to let.  Request comprehensive, easy to read literature and information on each of the properties you are looking at which will help you to weigh up the pluses and minuses of the area, property, etc, and make the letting decision much easier.

10)    Expand / move – if your business is currently experiencing sales growth or sustained profits despite the recession then now could be the time to lease a great new commercial property right in the heart of London.  The London commercial properties market is now officially tenant driven so you could end up with the type of commercial property you had always dreamt of at a fraction of the cost you would have paid a couple of years ago.

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