| news in brief


Mike Blair Partner Gillespie Macandrew LLP reports that The Scottish Law Commission has recently issued a discussion paper, dealing with a number of aspects of the law of leases, and especially the termination of commercial leases. The Scottish Law Commission deserve more thanks than they often get for the efforts which they put into trying to improve and tidy many aspects of Scots Law. One of the minor topics in the present discussion paper is that of “phantom leases”. Everybody agrees that you cannot let, eg. a shop, to yourself. What happens however when the sitting tenant buys the shop from the owner? For most people, this takes you back to the situation which you couldn’t have created in the first place, namely, being your own tenant, and therefore the lease must “evaporate” because an owner’s legal title is obviously superior to and more permanent than that of a tenant. Although this looks obvious, and common sense, a practice has grown up at Registers of Scotland of pretending that the lease continues in existence in some way, as a “phantom”. In their discussion paper, the Scottish Law Commission suggest that there are legal authorities and theories why a “phantom” lease might legitimately exist. On analysis however, most of these involve situations where there are third party interests involved, or where some genuine distinction can be drawn between the owner of the land, and the owner of the tenancy. It will be interesting to see how the Law Commission deals with this. Different sectors of the legal profession have differing views on the present, counter-intuitive, practice. All those who are interested are encouraged to give their views in to the Commission before the consultation closes on14 September 2018.


The Manchester office of international commercial real estate firm Avison Young has announced a series of appointments including the formation of a new Valuation team. Charles Ardern and Aaron Graham have joined Avison Young’s rapidly growing Manchester team as Directors.


Ground engineering expert, Mainmark, is calling out to commercial businesses and industrial property owners, urging them to not only check the structure of their buildings for signs of subsidence following the recent weather conditions, but also recommending they research into the advanced solutions now available for structural remediation work.


Sheffield solicitors, Taylor&Emmet LLP, have negotiated a lease on an iconic former cutlery works for the city’s premier restaurant and bar group. Commercial property specialist, Alastair Reid, helped The Milestone Group secure the Rutland Cutlery Works building in Kelham Island, which it is transforming into a hive of food and drink operators, under one roof.


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A series of lettings have been completed at Abingdon Business Park following its major refurbishment programme bringing four new tenants to the park; and now has only has two refurbished office units available totalling 3,500 sq.ft.


VPS, the UK market leader in specialised property services management, have introduced their latest smart technology security solution – VPS SmartLockBox – the first commercial Bluetooth enabled high security key storage box.


Owen White Solicitors property department has welcomed a new member to the team. Having trained at the company, Ewan Gadsden joins as a newly qualified solicitor and will work with both the development team and the commercial property team.


A survey of more than 300 property professionals by Trident Building Consultancy, in association with RICS, GoReport and Teesside University.Property professionals have found that proptech is an opportunity rather than a threat, but a clear majority are also sceptical about their own companies’ progress on adopting new technology.


International law firm CMS has been appointed as The Crown Estate’s sole legal provider, on all aspects of work for its Regional Retail Portfolio, including asset management, development, sales and purchases. The £2.5bn Regional Retail portfolio is comprised of 14 shopping and retail parks, three major shopping centres, and one leisure destination.


Northern Ireland’s premier outlet shopping destination, The Boulevard, is delighted to report a successful relaunch this spring attracting new retailers in the process. The consumer-focused rebrand of the outlet centre in Banbridge (formerly ‘The Outlet’) saw a series of fashion events and onsite entertainment across two weekends in March, achieving a 26% uplift in footfall, 33% increase in sales and an 81% conversion rate for the scheme.


Loveitts Estate Agents is further increasing its reach throughout Warwickshire by expanding their current premises in Leamington Spa and merging their Leamington and Southam offices under one roof to create a hub for South Warwickshire, further accommodating its customers within the region.


Knight Frank report that The new No 3 Capital Quarter office building in Cardiff city centre has secured consumer body Which? as its first tenant. Which? has taken a 15 year lease on the 11,550 sq.ft second floor of the office, at a rental of £22.50 per sq.ft. It will be the consumer champion’s first office base in South Wales.


Quantity surveying and project management company Walker Sime has signed a five-year lease of 3,500 sq.ft at No. 8 Princes Dock, Liverpool Waters. The consultancy firm will be moving from its current Liverpool address at Cotton Exchange on Bixteth Street.


A new local artistic landmark is due to be created in Cradley Heath through a partnership between Halesowen College and A Perry & Co (Hinges) Ltd, a leading manufacturer and supplier of hinges, hardware, ironmongery, chain and threaded bar, which has been based in the West Midlands for the past 93 years. Global software as a service developer, Eight Technology (with its Dealerweb Showroom and React platforms) is the first company to have signed to move into the ‘grow-on’ buildings at Exeter Science Park to accommodate its expanding team.


Dorian Wragg, a commercial partner at Bruton Knowles reports that demand for office space in Gloucester is picking up – thanks in part to shortages of accommodation in neighbouring Cheltenham. He said higher rents in Cheltenham are also persuading people to take a second look at Gloucester.


Incentive FM, the UK’s leading independent facilities company, has been awarded a £2.7 million, three-year contract by Southgate Shopping Centre in Bath. Under the conditions of the agreement with Broadgate Estates, they will be responsible for all cleaning, window cleaning and security at the open-air shopping centre which is a key tourist attraction and home to numerous restaurants.


The RO Real Estate is pleased to announce the appointment of Mark Casey as a Projects Director within its Real Estate division. Mark joins from Kier Property, where he was a Senior Project Manager with significant experience across a range of sectors and will be based in the RO Real Estate office in London.


Britain’s estimated 1 billion windows could become the power generators of the future, letting light through while harnessing solar energy. A Cambridge firm, Polysolar, which is manufacturing transparent solar panels, predicts that they could eventually replace conventional carbon emitting energy sources, such as coal and gas.


A prime development site in Bridgwater, Somerset, near Hinkley Point C, is being marketed by national property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton. The former Bridgwater Hospital site offers exciting potential for redevelopment, with planning permission already secured for a 100 bed hotel and restaurant within the original former hospital building.


COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MONTHLY 2018


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