03/29/2017

Following a recent judgement, a rent concession on a property could now be in very different legal territory. Martin Billings and Rosie Gibb, partners in the Real Estate department at BrookStreet des Roches, explain the full implications. It is not unusual for a rent concession to be documented in a side letter, keeping the arrangement both confidential and personal to the tenant. It is also common for a side letter to contain provisions which allow the arrangement to be terminated if the

03/08/2017

Vail Williams partner Stephen Hill explains some of the effects so far of the controversial rates revaluation. The Valuation Office Agency has now finalised its revaluation of rateable values. The resultant changes in rate liability will come into force on April 1, 2017 and the new assessments will be used to calculate rate charges for at least the next five years. The arrival of rate demands over the next few days showing these new assessments will be in a number of instances a surprise

02/28/2017

Abigail Gisbourne, solicitor in the real estate department at BrookStreet des Roches, looks at the implications for both landlords and leasehold tenants after a key ruling over letting out property through the likes of Airbnb. The case of Iveta Nemcova v Fairfield Rents Limited has served as a warning to residential property owners who are part of the Airbnb generation. The case involved a residential leaseholder of a property in a block of flats where the lease contained a covenant “not

11/16/2016

Rebecca Thomas, Partner - Professional Support at law firm BrookStreet Des Roches, explains a significant change in the way Business Rates are calculated for occupiers who use more than one floor. The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) recently announced a change to the way in which commercial property will be valued for business rates purposes where a business is in occupation of two or more separate spaces within a building. This change is likely to result in a business rates increase for affected

11/11/2016

Stephen Hill, partner at Vail Williams and member of its business rates team, based at the Thames Valley office, explains what businesses face when their new bills arrive next year. The financial impact of the 2017 rating revaluation will be felt by many businesses located in Reading when the new rate bills land next March. 'Larger' occupiers (properties with 2017 List assessments over a rateable value of £100,000) will see an immediate surge in their rate liabilities, potentially more than

03/31/2017

Attending a meeting in Swindon recently, those of us from further east were struck by a feeling of déjà vu. It felt like we were in Reading in those dark days before Reading UK CIC. The audience of 50 or so, a cross-section of the property community from the Wiltshire region, had come to listen to the dulcet tones of Gavin Calthrop, director of place marketing at Switch on to Swindon. He gave us the facts, which are also scribed in a Swindon & Wiltshire LEP report: “Swindon and Wiltshire LEP

03/31/2017

There was little joy for three developers in the Thames Valley on March 29 when schemes for a total of 359 homes failed to go through despite all being recommended for approval. Bloor Homes and Hallam Land Management’s plan for 150 homes on a 7.35-hectare site east of Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford was refused by South Oxfordshire District Council’s planning committee on grounds of the impact on the landscape, lack of infrastructure and loss of agricultural land. At the same meeting Rockspring

03/31/2017

The next major milestone in Slough’s regeneration has begun with the council’s acquisition of the former Thames Valley University (TVU) site. Slough Borough Council says redevelopment of the site into a mix of retail, leisure, offices and homes will bring £550 million of investment. The project is expected to include: * More than 1,400 homes * Around 45,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space * Office space totalling 250,000 sq ft Cllr Sohail Munawar, leader of the council, said: “This is a