Six things for 2026: What commercial landlords should be thinking about
For commercial landlords, 2026 presents a set of pressures that require careful attention. Tenants are more cost-conscious, investors are applying closer scrutiny to asset quality and performance, and compliance expectations around buildings continue to evolve. At the same time, landlords need flexibility: the ability to reposition assets, respond to market changes, and maintain control over…
Read MoreWhat property professionals need to know about getting contract variations right
Contract variations are a fact of life in property transactions. A tenant wants to alter their permitted use. Development timelines shift and payment schedules need adjusting. A conditional contract requires amendment before completion. These changes happen regularly, and when relationships are good, the temptation is to agree them quickly and informally. A recent High Court decision demonstrates why that approach…
Read MoreWhy the 2025 UK retail property recovery is contractual, not speculative
UK retail property delivered the strongest total returns of any traditional commercial property sector during 2025. Research published by Knight Frank indicates total returns of 9.2 per cent to the third quarter, ahead of industrial property at 9.1 per cent and significantly outperforming offices. Shopping centres and food stores were the strongest performing retail sub-sectors,…
Read MoreWhat the Budget statement means for UK commercial property
The Chancellor’s 26th November Budget arrived at a time when the commercial property market was already dealing with difficult conditions. Borrowing remains expensive, construction activity has slowed, and occupier confidence varies from sector to sector. Against that backdrop, the Budget did not contain dramatic measures or unexpected giveaways. Instead, it set out a series of changes that shift…
Read MoreRetail restructuring: A landlord’s guide to CVAs and store closures
Q3 2025 has been a sobering quarter for shopping centre landlords. According to Savills’ latest Shopping Centre and High Street report, the sector witnessed a wave of retail casualties. Revolution Bars closed 25 venues, reducing its estate from 90 to 65 sites. Prezzo continued its downsizing strategy with further closures following an earlier decision to…
Read MoreBusiness Rates Reform 2026: Legal strategies for retail landlords
The Chancellor’s business rates reform, set to take effect from April 2026, is being framed as a rebalancing act. It lifts the burden on small high street businesses while asking larger operators to pay more. According to Savills’ latest Shopping Centre and High Street report (Q3 2025), the reform introduces a higher surcharge of up…
Read MoreWayleave agreements: the development constraint hiding in plain sight
When commercial property developers carry out due diligence, they will generally prioritise seeking out the most common potential challenges, such as planning constraints, environmental liabilities, and defects in, etc. Yet there is one category of legal arrangement that regularly escapes detection until it has already become a problem, and that is wayleave agreements. These deceptively simple licences give utility and telecommunications providers rights to…
Read MoreWhat are retentions in construction contracts and why are they under review?
Withholding payment at the end of a construction contract has long been a fixture of UK construction contracts. It is often agreed at the outset and is a condition of the contract that a proportion of the agreed contract sum will be withheld (the “retention”). A typical contract allows the client or main contractor to…
Read MoreSolar in commercial property: Cutting service charges without cutting corners
Sustainability is no longer optional in commercial property. Investors, occupiers, regulators and the market now expect buildings to demonstrate genuine carbon reduction and clear ESG progress. At the same time, landlords and agents are under pressure to keep service charges under control, reduce operating costs, and maintain competitive EPC ratings. It is little surprise, then,…
Read MoreSubletting in the hybrid era: What tenants and landlords need to know
The post-pandemic shift towards hybrid working has reshaped the commercial office landscape in recent years. For tenants, the result has often been surplus space – desks that sit empty most days, unused meeting rooms, and entire wings of an office that feel more like a relic of 2019 than a necessity in 2025. In this…
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