What we caught before they signed: three commercial property stories

On most commercial property deals, legal review costs less than clients expect. It saves more than they expect too.

The three stories below are recent examples from our Commercial Property department. A long lease about to be signed. A gym that couldn't legally trade. A first-time business owner committing to £75,000 without checking the contract. Different clients, different sectors, different problems.

What they have in common is when we got involved. Before the contract was signed.

Each one cost the client a fraction of what it saved. That's the part most people only understand after the fact. These three stories are an attempt to explain it before the fact.

£10,000 saved from one quick review of a lease agreement

A long lease isn't always a strong lease. Sometimes the length itself is what costs you.

A client came to us with heads of terms for new commercial premises. They'd agreed a 15-year lease and were ready to sign. The rent and terms looked sensible on paper. It wasn't the agent's role to identify the tax implications, and our client had no idea.

When we read the lease through, the issue jumped out. At that length and value, the deal crossed the Stamp Duty threshold and the client was looking at around £10,000 in tax they hadn't budgeted for. We took the deal back to first principles. By signing for 7 years with options to extend, the SDLT charge disappeared and the client kept the flexibility to walk if the location didn't work out.

The outcome: £10,000 saved in tax, with the option to extend or exit on the client's own terms.

The lesson: Lease length is a tax decision as much as a commercial one. Worth a second pair of eyes before you sign.

How a phone call to the landlord saved a gym from a 5-year dead-end

Sometimes the lease isn't the problem. It's everything that has to happen before the lease is supposed to start working.

An independent gym operator had taken on premises and fitted them out from scratch. Equipment in, signage up, ready to open. The 5-year lease was signed and there were no break clauses. What hadn't been sorted was change-of-use planning permission. Without it, they couldn't trade.

The lease was watertight on the landlord's side, which meant the client was facing five years of rent on premises they couldn't legally operate from. We knew the landlord through years of working in the area, and we picked up the phone. The conversation was straightforward: this isn't workable for either side. We negotiated an early exit on terms that worked for both parties.

The outcome: The client walked away from a five-year liability they couldn't have escaped on the lease alone.

The lesson: Local relationships matter. So does sequencing. Planning permission before the lease, not after.

How £1,000 of legal advice saved a Colne retailer from a £75,000 mistake

A new business owner thought a quick legal review wasn't worth it. The numbers told a different story.

A retailer was about to sign a 5-year lease on a Colne shop unit, total commitment around £75,000. They'd queried whether legal review was worth the spend. We told them straight: at that value, walking in blind isn't a saving, it's a gamble.

When we read the lease, two things stood out. There was no break clause, which meant a brand new business with no trading history was locked in for the full term. The repair obligations were also disproportionate, with the tenant carrying responsibility for parts of the building's structure that should have sat with the landlord. We renegotiated both before the client signed.

The outcome: A break clause was added and the repair liabilities were reduced to a fair scope. The legal spend was around £1,000.

The lesson: On a £75,000 commitment, a couple of thousand pounds of legal review isn't a cost. It's insurance.

The three clients above had one thing in common. They came to us before they signed.

If you've got a commercial property deal on your desk, that's the moment to make the call. Heads of terms, draft lease, an offer letter from a landlord. Whichever form it takes, send it over. We'll read it, tell you what we'd flag, and give you a fee indication for the work to follow.

Got a deal on your desk? Send us your heads of terms.