Monaghans - Lease Closures & Exits
Lease Closures and Exits
16th April 2020
Monaghans’ experienced lease closures team continue to deliver value whilst supporting all aspects of our clients lease exit strategies and planned lease closures across all sectors.
We have a breadth of experienced MRICS Chartered Surveyors who lead our dilapidations teams to plan lease exits and implement and respond to Landlords claims throughout the UK in accordance with the RICS Dilapidations Guidance Note 7th Edition and PLA Pre Action Protocol (2012).
Monaghans can plan and facilitate successful exits and closures across your estate for one off properties or as part of multiple site portfolio rationalisation:
- Strategy Report – a successful closure should be proactive and include a strategy report prepared months ahead of the expiry date (which is paramount in a conditional break clause situation). This strategy will involve input from your in-house or external legal team. It is a bold strategy to wait for a Landlords claim to arrive, proceed with works based on an assumption, or do nothing.
- Lease documentation – a practical thorough review is essential including any licences for alterations, schedules of condition, sub leases, assignments, etc. to highlight defences and strategies to reduce your liability.
- How Monaghans differ is the proactive upfront strategy, planning, and monitoring:
- Every lease situation is different requiring an expert approach in response to many factors; The best solution may be to offer early access, agree a monetary settlement post expiry to maximize supersession arguments under s18(1), or carry out the works and yield up the demise.
- Market research and monitoring the planning portal & reletting market to establish actual landlord intention may expose conflict with the signed declarations within the Quantified Demand and/or Schedule of Dilapidations.
- We have access to in-house Cost Management, Project Management, and CDM teams to help plan and procure any neccessary works.
- Value for money – our approach can be self-financing, and we have achieved savings of up to 4 times our fee. These savings can be a result of identifying weakness and shortcomings in Lease documentation or the Landlords approach and implementation such as invalid reinstatement notices, conditional reinstatement clauses, etc., or through successful negotiation with Landlords or incoming Tenants.
- Experience – our team approach includes a MRICS Chartered Surveyor leading any appointment. A successful dilapidation approach requires years of dilapidations experience and knowledge.
Interim dilapidations claims are also important and can also be defended. GOV-UK have suspended forfeiture rights for Commercial Lease during the Covid-19 period. During the current travel restrictions Monaghans have continued to successfully hand over properties, achieving successful contractual lease expiries despite Covid-19 restrictions, protecting our clients from loss of rent, and reducing potential dilapidations claims post expiry.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to discuss your specific requirements in more detail, or if there is anything else we can help with in the current period. In the first instance, please contact Alan Nock on 07788 395 603 or alan.nock@monaghans.co.uk.
Whilst the Covid-19 lockdown continues, Monaghans can also be of assistance with protecting mothballed premises, the implementation of Safe Operating Procedures (SOP) on live construction sites, and planning for reopening. For further information please see: