Search
Forum - How to get out of a business lease
How to get out of a business lease
Tue, 15/09/2009 - 15:46 — Few good men
My business seized trading in Nov 2008. I have asked the landlord to give me an option to terminate the lease. I have been looking to reassign the lease with no luck. The lease runs until 2015, 6 years remaining.What would the minimum amount I should offer. current rent and service charges are £12,500 per an. I also owe considerable sums to the Bank.. HELP
Founding partner
Legal resources for your business - employment law, company law and more | Law Donut
Published by 
If there isn't a break clause in your favour then your initial options are to assign or sublet the premises. I note you have tried to assign without any success. Regarding surrendering the lease, there isn't a set formula to apply in calculating a suitable premium. What is appropriate or what is the minumum amount that you should offer depends on the facts of the case and the current economic climate. My advice would be to speak to a local surveyor experienced in leasehold work to determine what the Landlord is likely to accept. If the Landlord is confident of eventually finding a new tenant or if he/she feels that he/she is best served taking a lump sum now rather than risking that you will stop paying the rent soon then the Landlord may accept a moderate sum. In the interim period, you could ask your Landlord to accept your rent payments monthly rather than quarterly. Without seeing the lease, I cannot advise you further, but if you have stopped paying your rent then you risk the Landlord forfeiting the lease and/or taking other action to recover any debts due.
In light of what you have stated, I strongly recommend that you speak to my colleague, Victoria Strickland, about general business restructuring and recovery. Victoria is happy to speak to you, if you'd like to give her a call on 01482 601334.
Regards
Adrian West
Dear Few good men,
You'll find a range of Law Donut resources related to getting out of a lease by following this link:
www.lawdonut.co.uk/law/premises/getting-out-of-a-lease. But it sounds as if the answer to your specific question will hinge on the details of your case and your relationship with your landlord. Leave it with us, and we'll see if any of the property specialists among our law firm partners can respond in the forum with any pointers for you.
The Law Donut
Add a comment
Not registered? We'll create a new account for you when you add your comment