Welcome to the Spring 2013 issue of Informer, which we hope you will find an interesting and informative read.
The tough economic climate is affecting both landlords and tenants. In the past few months, we have seen a number of major high street names in trouble, such as HMV, Blockbuster, Comet and Jessops. Other stores, such as Thorntons, are reducing their high street presence and getting rid of unprofitable stores. Many shopping centres and retail parks now have gaping holes in them, with large units such as Comet and HMV standing vacant. Landlords are often unable to relet the units in the current market.
Please do contact one of our property insolvency specialists through John Nelmes if you would like any advice on any distressed property issues.
Tenants are seeking flexibility, trying to terminate onerous lease liabilities on sites that are no longer profitable or which are surplus to requirements. Landlords, on the other hand, want to keep the tenant on the hook wherever possible. The perennial 'cat and mouse' game between landlords and tenants continues. One of our property litigation team, Lauren King, looks at the latest case in a long line of cases where a tenant's exercise of his break clause was held to be invalid. In this case, the tenant had forgotten to pay the penalty that was due when the break was exercised.
It is not all plain sailing for landlords, either. Lesley Webber considers a recent case where a landlord accepted a surrender of a lease from an insolvent tenant, but found that the tenant had been let off more liabilities than the landlord had expected.
Empty buildings are at risk of occupation by squatters. Another member of our property litigation team, Hannah Watson, examines the effect which the recent 'criminalisation' of squatting in residential premises has had on commercial property. One of our real estate investment specialists, Jayne Elkins, reviews a recent case where a superior landlord tried to frustrate his tenant's attempts to sublet a property.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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