LEASE END GUIDE
SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO NOW?
WHY do you need to act early? HOW do you go about the process? WHAT do you need to do?
1
S H O U L D I ST AY O R S HO U L D I G O NOW? W rit t en b y V ic ki W a lke r, S p a c e So lution s
If y ou a re a pp ro a ch in g a le a se e ve n t
S U S TA I N A B I LI TY
it c an re p re se n t a ti m e w h er e y ou a re
40% of the UK’s carbon footprint
fa c ed w it h m a ny d ec is io ns a s a b us in e ss a nd c an b e a n u nc e rta in jo u rn ey fo r m a ny o cc up i er s.
comes from the construction industry. In terms of office fit-out, the Circular Economy approach of
T he re a re se v er al fa ct or s to c on s id e r.
reduce / reuse / recycle also applies.
COST
One of the benefits of moving office
In b us in e ss e ve ry p en n y is a p ris on e r, w h et he r th a t is p ro fit s fo r o w n ers o r sh a re ho ld e rs , o r to b e se e n n ot to b e w a sti n g p ub li c m o ne y. C ur re n t la n dl or d in c en ti ve s to st ay h av e to b e w e ig he d u p a ga in st p ro po s ed
rather than transforming the existing space has always been that a fit-out in a new building could go hand-inhand with a ‘big bang’ move rather than a phased decant and fit-out that introduces complexity and cost.
la n dl or d in c en ti ve s to m o ve a n d p ot e nt ial ly tr ad in g o ne o ff th e o th er. N ew fu rn it ur e a nd fi t-o ut c os ts ha v e to b e fa ct o re d in a s w e ll a s th e h um a n c os t in te rm s o f th e st re ss
P O S T CO V I D W O R K PL A CE The return to the workplace is an important consideration for any
in v olv e d w it h a ny si g ni fic an t ch a ng e.
organisation re-occupying a business
LOC ATION
real opportunity to evaluate the way
A cc e ss to th e m a rk et m ig h t n o t b e a s c rit ica l n ow th a t d ig it al c oll ab o rat io n is p ro vi ng to b e so ve rs a til e. In fa c t, a s w e’v e al l b ee n re a di ng, b us in es se s a re n ow b ec o m in g (w a it fo r it) “lo ca ti on a gn o sti c” w it h p ro xi m ity to st af f ta k in g th e p la ce o f fo rc in g p eo p le to c om m u te lo n g d is ta nc es to a c en tr al lo ca t io n w h er e th e re is a c on c en tr at io n o f li ke-m in d e d c re at ive s.
premises this year. It has presented a your team and your business work in the future. To understand the spaces you need and how they need to work Now that working from home isn’t the nightmare we all anticipated, could in situ refurbishments become more common? Does WFH now make the in situ ‘big bang’ change a reality?
2
W H Y S H O U LD YOU BE AWARE O F Y O U R LE A S E EVENTS? Firstly, the decision is not just about staying put or moving to a new location. It’s about changing what you’ve got, where you are or moving to a new location and a new environment. Lease Breaks provide an opportunity to consider your options to see out the remaining term of your lease or re-negotiate with your landlord should you stay for the term agreed. Lease Expiry for occupiers is often missed with many leaving it too late and are either forced into extending the lease where they are, or they have a compressed amount of time to design and fit-out a new space putting pressure on the business. Both of which result in either space that is not fit for the future, or a deal that costs the business more money.
GET IN TOUCH
enquiries@spacesolutions.co.uk www.spacesolutions.co.uk
3
H O W S H O UL D Y O U P R EP A R E F O R A L EA S E EVENT? You should be considering your
Lawyers should be instructed 6
options a maximum 24 months in
months in advance of the move as
advance. This will allow you to review
this process can take up to 3
your business strategy and carry out
months to conclude.
any workplace consultancy exercise to establish what you need from your
The 5-6 months leading up to
space to build a brief and what size
occupation on site you should be
of space you require. The current
developing the Design and issuing
pandemic has taught us that there
any Statutory Consents for
are no one size fits all , and you
warrantable works. This process can
should be considering how you build
take 6-8weeks and we advise always
in flexible space to support a new
having a warrant in place prior to
way of working.
works commencing on site. ·
Once you reach 12 months from your
Procuring the costs for fit-out and
lease expiry you should be reviewing
furniture should be the next step
your current dilapidations on your
allowing enough time to complete
premises and start engaging with an
the fit-out and move into your desired
Agent on available space that fits
space.
your space standard and operational needs. Once you have identified some options SPACE can assist with Test-fit plans showing how your brief fits the space and what the likely cost of fitout would be. Once you have decided on a suitable premises your Agent will negotiate your Heads of Terms to secure the best deal for you.
4
WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS? SPACE work with occupiers at the earliest stage to ensure we
GET IN TOUCH
understand your business and what types of space you need to support your people. · We can undertake a workplace consultancy exercise where we interview key department heads and
Vicki Walker
prepare a schedule of what types of
Business Development Director
space you need to support your business needs for the future. · We can undertake a space budget as part of this exercise to ensure you
victoria.walker@spacesolutions.co.uk
07875 676198
have the right size of space. Get this wrong and the cost to the business can be significant. · Whether you decide to stay or go SPACE can support you with space planning that supports the brief developed as part of the consultancy exercise. We can provide an indication of CAT B fit-out costs for the works to de-risk your project in its earliest stage. We are here to advise any client considering a change to the workplace, please get in touch.
GET IN TOUCH
enquiries@spacesolutions.co.uk www.spacesolutions.co.uk