Commercial Property Investment

We advise commercial property investors on acquiring, financing, managing and selling investment property across England and Wales.

Our clients include individual investors, property companies, SPVs, developers and portfolio owners. They use us for individual investments as well as ongoing property requirements.

Why investors use our commercial property team

Commercial property is a major practice area for Taylor Rose. We have a large and highly experienced team, including a substantial London presence alongside lawyers nationwide.

Our lawyers regularly advise on investment acquisitions and disposals, commercial leases, development, property finance and refinancing, giving us experience across the full lifecycle of a commercial property investment.

For investors, this provides several practical advantages.

We can deal with repeat acquisitions and disposals, understand an existing portfolio rather than starting again on every transaction and allocate work appropriately where several properties are involved.

We can also call upon specialists in banking, corporate, construction, planning, tax, insolvency and property disputes. That becomes particularly useful with SPV structures, complex financing, development projects or problematic tenants.

Our pricing is generally at competitive mid-market levels, giving investors access to a substantial specialist property resource without automatically paying City-firm rates.

What will our commercial property advice cost?

We price according to the work required.

A single-let investment with a straightforward title and lease will ordinarily involve less legal work than a multi-let property, development investment or portfolio acquisition.

Factors affecting cost can include:

• the number and complexity of leases;

• financing requirements;

• title issues;

• corporate or SPV structures;

• development or planning matters; and

• the speed and complexity of the transaction.

For repeat investors, there can also be efficiencies once we understand the ownership structure, financing arrangements and portfolio.

We will normally provide a clear fee proposal based upon the anticipated scope before substantive work begins.

Buying commercial property as an investment

Our role is to establish whether the legal position supports the investment you believe you are buying.

That includes investigating title, searches, access, easements, restrictive covenants, planning and other matters affecting the property.

Where the property is occupied, we also examine the documentation underpinning its income.

This can include:

• tenant leases and remaining terms;

• rent and rent review provisions;

• break clauses;

• repairing liabilities;

• service charges;

• guarantees and rent deposits;

• rights to assign or sublet;

• concessions and side letters;

• alterations and licences; and

• existing defaults or disputes.

A headline rent and apparently good tenant covenant do not tell the whole story. A break clause, unusual repairing obligation, undocumented concession or restriction on use can materially affect the investment.

Our job is to identify those issues, explain their practical significance and help you decide how they should affect the transaction.

Resolving problems found during due diligence

Finding a legal issue does not necessarily mean abandoning an investment.

Depending upon the problem, we might negotiate a contractual solution, require further documentation, obtain indemnity insurance, regularise an existing arrangement or seek to reflect the risk in the commercial terms.

Experienced property advice is as much about finding workable solutions as identifying risks.

Financing investment property

We regularly act on purchases involving commercial finance and subsequent refinancing.

Our property lawyers deal with the lender's property requirements and security over the asset. Where the financing requires wider advice, our banking and corporate lawyers can assist with facility agreements, guarantees, debentures and other security.

This can be particularly useful where several properties or SPVs are involved.

Commercial property portfolio work

Property investors frequently require legal support between acquisitions and disposals.

We can advise on:

• granting and renewing leases;

• licences to assign, underlet or alter;

• lease variations;

• rent deposits and guarantees;

• refinancing;

• restructuring;

• title issues;

• acquisitions and disposals; and

• tenant problems.

For portfolio clients, continuity matters. A legal team which already understands the ownership structure and properties can often deal with subsequent work more efficiently.

Speak to our commercial property investment lawyers

Contact our commercial property team to discuss the transaction and your wider objectives.