Looking to open a 2nd location

Cianos

Hi all,
We're looking to rent a 2nd retail unit. Our current location was very straightforward to acquire, we simply approached the landlord, he gave us the amount he's looking for and was very flexible with lease terms. However the estate agents for this 2nd place (which is in a more desirable location) are not the same.

We've asked for info on lease/terms, and outlined some initial requests but they've basically asked us to come back with an offer. I think we might need to defer to a consultant who can advise us on this as I feel a little out of my depth here, so if anyone could make a recommendation there that'd be great.

The place was listed as 'rent negotiable' and when I queried the rental price initially they gave the figure of 40k.

Here are the things I requested, and what they came back with;

• Confirmation of the length of lease being offered (they've said the client is "seeking a long term lease" and they've asked us to make an offer. I am thinking of offering 10 years, but this might be too short for their liking?)
• I requested a break clause of 2 years (they have said their client wouldn't give this. I'm thinking of requesting a break at 6 years instead, i.e one year following the first rent review)
• Confirmation on whether or not the lease would be full repair and Insuring (they have said we need to make a proposal for this)
• Confirmation of the value of the rates (they have said rates aren't yet determined as the place has to be reevaluated once the unit is occupied. I've spoken to the council but I'm worried that some unknown could lead to rates being way more than what we're expecting. )
• Confirmation of length of rent free period being granted (they have told us to make an offer)
• Confirmation on any advance rental deposit and value of any deposit required (they have asked us to make an offer)

Would appreciate any advice on the best next steps here, thank you

jimmii

We found ourselves in a similar position. First time round we dealt pretty much directly with the landlord and made things a lot lot smoother. Then the last time it was almost solely through an agent, as the landlords were abroad, and it was a massive pain they want you to jump through hoops but don't tell you how big those hoops are or where they've put them! We started out with what we thought was at the bottom end of the acceptable range without trying to really low ball it too much. Ours were also looking for a long lease we started with 5 years and in the end we settled on 10 with an our side only 5 year break clause. They were looking for 6 month deposit and we offered 2 and settled on 3. How much you are you going to have to move your terms is going to depend on how much demand there is for the unit. The agents will probably look to turn it into something of an auction.

We had a guide rateable value but were able to get a figure confirmed by the council pretty quickly.

3 months rent free seems to be the typical length right now. We got 3 and then some issues emerged that were left behind by the previous tenants and we ended up getting another 6 weeks thrown in on top!

FRI lease is pretty standard but if you could get them to do repairs that would be a plus as there will always be something!