Valuations

Professional Department

Professional work is a core service provided by Whybrow Chartered Surveyors. The department has experience providing Valuations (RICS Red Book and appraisals) and dealing with many Landlord & Tenant matters, such as lease renewals and rent reviews for private and public sector clients, individuals and family trusts.

Valuations

Whybrow Chartered Surveyors carry out valuation work and provide valuation advice for a wide range of clients for a comprehensive list of purposes which include:

• Loan security valuations
• Acquisition and disposal
• Financial accounting
• Asset Valuation
• Self-invested personal pension valuations (SIPPs)

We are RICS qualified Registered Valuers, and are able to value commercial properties in many different sectors including:

• Retail
• Retail warehouses
• Office
• Industrial / Manufacturing & Warehousing
• Healthcare
• Education
• Development Land and Residual Appraisals
• Investment Property

Loan security valuations

Whybrow Chartered Surveyors are on the lending valuation panels of banks that include Barclays and HSBC, as well as private funding institutions. We provide valuations in appropriately laid out reports within agreed timescales to often support acquisition time critical deadlines.

We are also panel Valuers for various Local Authorities as well as being successfully instructed by other Local Authorities following formal tender processes that are often in competition with others.

Self-invested personal pension (SIPPs) 

We provide valuation advice for SIPPs for clients on a range of commercial property types. This can be for initial purchase or transfer into the SIPP, periodic updated valuation as well as advice on the rental values for the connected lease or leases. This will often include advice on the terms of the lease including length, rent reviews, break clauses and repair obligation as examples.

Whybrow Chartered Surveyors will provide Heads of Terms when required in order for the pension administrators to implement the lease documentation appropriately in conjunction with solicitors.

Whybrow Chartered Surveyors also provide more specialist valuation advice in relation to:

• Probate
• 1982 Capital Gains Tax
• ATED

Landlord & Tenant

These matters can produce a potential source of conflict between Landlord and Tenant and, whilst this need not be so and it is important to retain good Landlord and Tenant relationships, the parties should be sure of their position.

Whybrow Chartered Surveyors offer:

• Strong Negotiation Skills
• In-depth Market Knowledge, working closely with our Agency Department
• Understanding of Lease Terms and Legal Documents
• Thorough knowledge of Landlord & Tenant Law and Case Law
• Experience in making Expert Witness Submissions to Arbitrators and Independent Experts
• Costs related to performance

We act for Portfolio Managers and Private Clients, either Landlord or Tenant, in negotiating Rent Reviews and Lease Renewals.  To enable us to do so, we maintain a comprehensive database of transactions conducted by our Agency Department and previous Lease Renewal and Rent Review information, and collate evidence from external sources to provide the best possible picture of the current market and of historical evidence in all our reports and advice.

Our services include:

• Lease renewals
• Rent reviews
• Advice on lease breaks and restructuring / regears
• Submissions to arbitrators and independent experts

Lease renewals

Lease expiries will differ greatly dependent upon how the lease has been set up originally. This is a technical matter that will need careful consideration and will have varied approaches based on whether the lease is ‘inside’ or ‘outside the Act’. The security of tenure provisions of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 give landlord and tenant a statutory framework with strict deadlines and timescales that can be effective to either side’s advantage if used correctly.

In contrast, leases that do not have the security of tenure provisions will have to be considered early enough to avoid consequence come lease end with no new lease in place.

Whybrow Chartered Surveyors are coherent in dealing with landlords and tenants across both lease types and have advised on a wide range of commercial property types.

Reading through and reviewing your lease at any stage is a key ingredient in planning for your lease expiry.  If you wish to discuss or check your lease through with one of our team do let us know.

Rent reviews

Rent reviews will provide a mechanism for landlord and tenant to set a new market rent at a set interval in a lease, subject to agreement of both parties.  In general, the majority of rent reviews will be what is known as ‘upward only’ meaning that if the market rents fall in the location the rent on the subject property will remain at the current level on review.

The onus is on the parties to consider the market evidence at the date of review and agree a suitable rent for the subject property. By its very nature this is often the cause of dispute and many leases will provide a process of introducing a third party to determine the new rent. Usually this could be an Independent Expert or an Arbitrator and there will be costs involved in their involvement.

Rent reviews will often be agreed through negotiation without the need for a third party. Whybrow Chartered Surveyors have strong negotiation skills and a database of rental transactions to call upon to provide advice to clients on a likely market rent at review. If you have a rent review coming up or outstanding that you would like to discuss please contact us.

Third party expert surveyor submissions

As stated above, the majority of rent reviews and lease renewals are settled by negotiation, however sometimes these will need to be referred to either an Arbitrator or Independent Expert surveyor for determination.  If this is the case, Whybrow will provide Expert Reports for submission to the third party for their consideration in determining the new rent at review or determining the lease terms, including rent, at lease renewal.

Lease breaks and restructuring / regears

It is most important to know how your lease is set up clearly in order to consider your plans at expiry or at a lease break option for example. Considering your plans carefully will allow you to strategise well in advance of any prospective opportunity within your lease to renegotiate the terms.

There may be an opportunity to negotiate new lease terms that will benefit both parties. If the property is suitable for the tenant and the tenant is suitable to the landlord, renewing a lease early may create enhanced value to both. Needless to say, if either party does not want to agree, the opportunity will not be available, so it is very important to consider any approach with this in mind as your position may be weakened as a result as with any negotiation.