Lease Advisory – Rent Reviews

Hellier Langston were instructed to act in relation to two outstanding rent reviews at 119 North East Road, Southampton, a convenience store occupied by Tesco, dating from 2019 and 2024. With both reviews remaining unresolved, our client required specialist lease advisory support to negotiate a fair outcome, minimise financial uncertainty, and bring the lease position up to date.

Our lease advisory team has extensive experience acting for both landlords and tenants in complex rent review negotiations, combining detailed market evidence with a thorough understanding of lease provisions to achieve commercially sound outcomes. 

The Requirement

The client faced the challenge of resolving two separate rent reviews that had become backdated and remained outstanding. As is often the case with historic rent reviews, the passage of time had increased the complexity of the negotiations, with both parties needing to consider changing market conditions, lease provisions, and the potential financial implications of any retrospective settlement.

Given the length of time involved, it was essential to establish the correct rental tone for the property at each review date, while ensuring compliance with the specific wording contained within the lease.

The client instructed Hellier Langston to:

• Review the lease documentation and rent review provisions.
• Analyse relevant market evidence at both review dates.
• Negotiate with the opposing party on their behalf.
• Resolve both outstanding reviews in a commercially practical manner.
• Provide certainty regarding future occupational costs and liabilities.

The Solution

Our lease advisory team undertook a detailed review of the lease and the rent review mechanism to identify the correct valuation assumptions and disregards applicable at both review dates.

We then carried out a comprehensive analysis of rental evidence from across the south coast, including comparable transactions and market trends relevant to each review period. Given the majority of open market letting evidence was for new stores only, and occurrence of many rent reviews for existing stores were index linked, particular attention was paid to identifying evidence that wasn’t openly known in the market. The exercise relied upon establishing an understanding of market conditions prevailing at the respective review dates rather than current rental levels, ensuring that negotiations were firmly based on the lease requirements and accepted valuation principles.

Acting as our client’s representative throughout the process, we entered into negotiations with the other party, presenting robust evidence and reasoned valuation arguments to support our position.

By maintaining a pragmatic and commercially focused approach, we were able to progress discussions efficiently and work towards a settlement that reflected market evidence while avoiding the need for costly third-party determination.

The Outcome

Both the 2019 and 2024 rent reviews were successfully concluded, securing healthy increases and bringing the lease position fully up to date and removing ongoing uncertainty for our client.

Our involvement provided:

• Resolution of two long-outstanding rent reviews.
• Expert interpretation of complex lease provisions.
• Evidence-based negotiations supported by detailed market analysis.
• Improved certainty over future rental liabilities.
• A commercially agreed outcome without the need for formal dispute resolution.

This instruction demonstrates Hellier Langston’s expertise in lease advisory and rent review negotiations, particularly where historic reviews have become outstanding and require careful analysis of both lease wording and market evidence. By combining technical valuation knowledge with practical negotiation skills, we help landlords and tenants secure fair and sustainable rental outcomes.

Team
Patrick Mattison – Lease Advisory & Valuation

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