We help buyers, sellers, owners, occupiers, developers and investors to refinance their existing commercial property.
Getting the right legal advice is crucial in ensuring you can focus on achieving your business objectives. The experienced Prettys team provides pragmatic, commercially-focused advice that takes into account market nuances and the particulars of your transaction.
From advice on freehold site acquisition (or disposal) through to providing clear explanations of your obligations as a landlord or tenant, we have extensive experience in all aspects of commercial property transactions.
No matter the complexity or circumstances of the matter at hand, our commercial property lawyers provide a transparent service with regular updates, so we can manage your expectations and priorities throughout the process.
What sectors do we work in?
Our experience covers all types of commercial property matters, including the following areas and specialist sectors:
Agriculture and land diversification
Charities and unincorporated associations
Development
Leisure and Sports
Manufacturing and Industry
Medical and Veterinary
Offices
Retail
Restaurants
Public Sector
Storage and distribution
Transport and logistics
Commercially-focused advice
These are just some of the matters that we can assist you with but please do call us to discuss any other property-related query you may have:
Acquisition or disposal of single or mixed-use sites
Commercial development sites with and without planning permission
Grant and variation of easements and other appurtenant rights
Grants, assignments and variations of commercial leases
Leasehold Investments and portfolio management support
Licences to occupy shared workspaces
Offices for single or multi occupancy arrangements
Strategic land transactions including options, promotion and conditional sale/purchase agreements
Overage agreements
Refinancing/secured lending requirements for major or bespoke lenders
Residential development (from site acquisition to plot sales) including affordable housing schemes
Leasehold enfranchisement
Lease extensions and renewals
To discover more about how we can help you, contact our commercial property solicitors today.
Efficient and effective solutions
Prettys’ real estate team appreciate the specific challenges your business faces and cares about providing straightforward, efficient and effective solutions to these that are tailored to your needs and delivered to your timescales.
As leading commercial property solicitors in Ipswich, we pride ourselves in offering a responsive and accessible service. To discuss your commercial property matter with our experts, contact us on 01473 232121, complete our contact form or send us an email via enquiry@prettys.co.uk.
As each commercial transaction is not on standard terms, it is very difficult to give a precise and meaningful answer to this question. Free, ‘no obligation’ estimates are available from our Commercial Property team. They will discuss with you your particular property details and your objectives in order to prepare a tailor-made estimate so that we can make realistic assumptions about whether your transaction will be straightforward or more complex. Please contact us by telephone on 01473 232121, or by email at commprop@prettys.co.uk where we will be happy to assist with estimates.
Yes, generally speaking it is best practice to have searches carried out for all commercial property acquisitions in case the property is subject to unknown matters not disclosed on the landlord’s land registry title.
If the lease is a renewal lease of the same property, then you might consider dispensing with searches but the renewal lease will still be subject to any matters that may be revealed by new searches. A cheaper alternative to a complete search pack in these circumstances might be search indemnity insurance to cover the risks of adverse matters. Your lawyer will discuss the risks and options with you, taking into account the circumstances.
Our team has significant experience in acting for clients who have chosen to release funds via alternative lenders. We can act quickly and take a proactive approach whilst still ensuring compliance with the lender’s specific requirements.
We can also advise on any guarantees or cross guarantees that may be required from individual guarantors.
Come and speak to us before you sign anything! In these circumstances you will likely be asked to sign an option agreement where the developer only has to buy your land if they secure planning permission for their proposed development. From your perspective you want to make sure that both the method of calculating the option payment and the eventual sale price and the trigger for when the payment(s) becomes due, and the duration of the option period are fair and reasonable.
It’s likely that you will have a clause in your lease prohibiting sharing of occupation of your property with a third party. Sometimes this is qualified, meaning that it may be allowed if the landlord agrees. By allowing this other company to use your space you may potentially be in breach of your lease and the landlord could seek enforcement action against you and you would likely be responsible for their legal costs!
If the landlord does agree, you should consider having a formal agreement put into place with the other company to set out their rights and obligations. You should consider all costs such as rates, utilities and service charges to make sure the deal is fair. You also want to make sure that the other company does not gain any property rights over the area that you are using in case you need it back.
This is not always very straightforward as technically the lease has to be assigned to the remaining individual (or to the individual and a new business partner, if there is one). The lease may have restrictions and you will almost certainly need your landlord’s consent, and you may have to remain as a guarantor. Speak to us if you are in this situation.
In most cases the answer will be “yes”, as generally speaking there should be no conflict between your objectives and the lender’s objectives, as both parties will require due diligence to be carried out, a good title, and the transfer of ownership and the mortgage registered at the land registry. Occasionally, lenders may require additional guarantees and we can assist with this, including arranging for separate independent legal advice on the guarantees where this is a lender’s requirement.