HD to 4k

Harrison Drury’s existing offices at Tootal Buildings feature an impressive business lounge.

TAG’s brief includes finding an office that matches the sense of arrival that staff and visitors enjoy when entering the Tootal Buildings.

Harrison Drury & Co Limited (‘HD’) is a regional law firm based in the North West of England that can trace its roots back to 1901 when William Henry Coupe began trading as a solicitor from the upstairs floor of 12 Lune Street in Preston.

From 2007 to 2024, the firm has grown from one office to seven and from twelve people to over one hundred and fifty. The firm maintains its commitment to its presence in local markets, supporting clients from as far North as Cumbria and across Lancashire and into Manchester.

The headcount of the firm’s Manchester office is expected to grow from 18 to between 30-40 staff over the next five years.

TAG has been retained to identify and acquire an office of around 4,000 sq.ft. in Manchester City Centre which will be available for occupation in February 2025.

If you would like help with identifying a new office for your business whether it be in Manchester or elsewhere in the UK, please call Martyn Markland on 0161 457 1422 or email him at mm@tenantag.co.uk.

Activation assignment

The Hive in Manchester’s Northern Quarter where creative agency, People Activation, have been based since 2015.

People Activation appointed TAG in May 2024 to dispose of its lease which was not due to expire until 8th June 2026.

TAG’s brief was to secure an assignment, sub-letting or early surrender of People Activation’s lease in such a way that minimised liabilities.

Fortunately, the quality of the office fit-out and the marketability of the building meant that it did not take long to identify a suitable replacement tenant in the form of Chroma Consulting.

As part of its negotiation, TAG was able to secure a premium for the lease from the assignee as well as a consideration for the existing fixtures and fittings. The premium that was paid reflected the benefit of the relatively low passing rent (i.e. £24.50 per sq.ft.) that TAG had previously negotiated when re-gearing PAL’s lease back in 2021.

The strength of the assignee’s financial covenant means that PAL’s contingent risks have been all but extinguished. The cash sums received more than cover the transaction costs allowing PAL’s shareholders to re-invest the surplus into their business.

If you would like help disposing of a lease on an office, retail or industrial property in Manchester or elsewhere in the UK, please call Martyn Markland on 0161 817 5007 or email him at mm@tenantag.co.uk.

National appointment

NRLA recently vacated its London (left) and Manchester offices.

TAG has been appointed to mitigate the lease liabilities of the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) following its decision to consolidate its office portfolio.

Hybrid working has changed both the amount and type of office space now being demanded by tenants. This has resulted in many organisations realising that they have either more space than they need or that it is in the wrong location or configuration, or in some cases, a combination of all three.

It is no surprise therefore that a growing number are choosing to operate break options at the earliest opportunity or vacate at lease expiry rather than renew.

Unfortunately, the process of vacating a commercial property is rarely as simple as just handing back the keys to the Landlord. This is because a tenant’s lease liabilities are likely to endure well beyond lease termination date, at least in the eyes of the Landlord!

The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) is the UK's largest membership organisation for private residential landlords in England and Wales, supporting and representing over 100,000 members.

It may surprise some that an organisation that champions the interests of landlords should appoint Tenant Advisory Group as its commercial property adviser. However, NRLA recognised the value in appointing an adviser that acts exclusively for tenants in an area as contentious as dilapidations.

The risk of conflicts of interest developing can be significant particularly if an adviser acts for Landlords as well as tenants. Indeed, this was the case here. NRLA’s previous adviser, OBi, act for one of its landlords so the conflict of interest was clear.

If you would like more information about our Lease Liability mitigation services, please call Martyn Markland on 0161 817 5007 or email him at mm@tenantag.co.uk.

How to avoid being overcharged.

The ‘Bright Building’ in Manchester Science Park didn’t quite live up to its name!

How would you feel if you discovered your landlord had been overcharging your office rent and service charges for the last 6 years? More importantly, how would you set about getting your money back?

It is a fact of life that mistakes can happen. In commercial property one of the simplest and most common sources of error is floor areas. The problems start when tenants assume, not unreasonably you would think, that the floor areas quoted to them by their landlord or even the agent that is advising them, are accurate. Regrettably, this is often not the case which can lead to some pretty expensive mistakes.

Take the case of a software development company we advised recently. They were one of the first tenants to move into the ‘Bright Building’ in Manchester Science Park, around six years ago.

Last year the business needed more space. So it decided to move into a bigger suite elsewhere in the building. However, before signing the new lease its solicitor recommended that it take independent property advice. We were recommended to them at that point. 

One of the first things we do in circumstances like this is to physically measure the client’s office space, both the existing and the new suites. It sounds simple but measuring office space is not as straightforward as you might think. There are conventions, professional codes of conduct and even case law that need to be observed. So there is plenty of scope for errors to occur.

In this case, we discovered that the floor area of the original suite was 14% smaller than had been quoted at the beginning of the lease. This meant that over six years the tenant had been charged £35,500 in rent, service charge and building insurance for space it physically did not have. Having discovered this, what could be done? Could they get their money back or was it too late?

Thankfully, when confronted with the evidence the landlord in question accepted that an error had been made. To their credit, they agreed to pay back all the overpaid sums in the form of an extra rent-free allowance on the larger new suite. This persuaded the tenant to press ahead with the new letting but not before we negotiated some additional enhancements to the lease terms which will help to further protect its interests in the longer term.

The CEO was pleased to have had TAG’s input saying; ‘Thank you for all your help, and sharing your experience with us during this project - it was much needed, and hugely appreciated.’

This example involved a relatively small letting of just 1,600 sq.ft. and is by no means an exceptional case. I could point to even greater discrepancies involving much larger floor areas that have gone on for even longer periods. So please, always instruct an independent surveyor to check your heads of terms before you sign a new lease and ensure that they physically measure the floor area of the space you are taking. The savings that result might surprise you!

If you would like more information about our due diligence services, please call Martyn Markland on 0161 457 1422 or email him at mm@tenantag.co.uk.

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