Search and find what you need faster.

Lawrence Stephens completes warehouse lease for LT Foods Europe

Posted on: December 6th, 2023 by Maverick Freedlander

We are pleased to announce that Lawrence Stephens’ Commercial Real Estate team have recently completed the new lease of a warehouse site for valued client LT Foods Europe Holdings Limited.

LT Foods, an established global food company, currently manufacture and distribute the leading rice brand in India and are the number one speciality food brand in the U.S.  Located in Harlow, the 90,000 square feet warehouse will be used for the storage and manufacturing of rice and other food products, allowing the company to fully establish its UK business and presence.

Working hard to get this deal across the line, the team from Lawrence Stephens was led by Directors Danny Schwarz and Nisha Saigal, with assistance from trainee solicitor Alex Ruder.

Nisha Saigal commented: “We are delighted to have completed this deal for LT Foods Europe. Through this new lease, the company will be able to substantially expand its offering and establish its UK business – a bright future ahead!”

Chairman, Vijay Arora at LT Food Holdings commented: “As we take the next steps for our company, the new warehouse lease will allow us to grow and strengthen our business in the UK. The assistance and advice from the team at Lawrence Stephens was truly invaluable in securing the swift and effective completion of this deal.”

Nick Marshall comments on downsizing in StartUps.co.uk

Posted on: August 23rd, 2023 by AlexT

Director Nick Marshall explores some of the key considerations businesses must bear in mind when looking to downsize or relocate, in StartUps.co.uk.

Nick’s comments were published in StartUps.co.uk, 22 August 2023, and can be found here.

“The decision for companies to relocate is now influenced by factors beyond just hard cash.

“For many businesses, there are a number of positives to downsizing and chief among these is the ability to bring down overhead costs, including rent, service charge, insurance premiums, business rates and utilities, as well as furniture and IT equipment.

“Other benefits include the flexibility offered to employees by hybrid working plans and the associated benefits for mental health and wellbeing, and a decreased number of trips to the office – cutting down on commute costs, time and carbon footprint.

“This is not to say the downsizing is purely beneficial for businesses and, in many cases, the decision to downsize is easier said than done, and businesses who rent their office space must be wary of the fact that they are tied down by often lengthy leases which they can’t get out of at short notice, simply to reduce overheads.

“Often there are also additional costs associated with leaving a lease early and, given it is usual for at least 6 months’ notice to be given to a landlord, cost savings are not going to be immediate. Tenants may also find themselves having to make a large payment to its landlord for dilapidations, even after they have relocated.

“Downsizing may also have a negative effect on office culture and wellbeing, alienating the very people that generate and process the business. Younger employees may also find their development stunted by the move to working from home on a permanent or semi-permanent basis, and it is vital that the decision to downsize does not have a negative impact on such staff.

“Finding the balance between these factors will no doubt be crucial in a company’s decision to downsize.”

Andrew Conway comments on Twitter’s rent dispute at their London HQ in The Next Web

Posted on: January 27th, 2023 by Natasha Cox

Asked about the possible motivations behind Twitter’s non-payment of rent with reference to a recent article reporting on it, Andrew comments: “Twitter is clearly looking to cut costs, so this must be the primary motivation. The article says that Twitter has abandoned its offices near Piccadilly Circus so, presumably, there’s no intention to re-occupy (or negotiate better terms).

“However, unless the landlord forfeits the lease (that is, taking back the premises, so it can be re-let to other tenants) or agrees to accept a formal surrender of the lease, Twitter will remain liable to pay the rent for the remainder of the term of the lease. Surrender/forfeiture act so as to bring the lease to an end. A tenant will be liable to pay rent (and other sums due under the lease) up the date of surrender/forfeiture but not beyond.”

Commenting on the increase in unpaid rent more broadly, Andrew explains: “during the pandemic, lots of tenants will have withheld payment of rent, primarily for cashflow purposes. The government introduced temporary measures which prevented landlords from forfeiting leases. Those restrictions came to an end on 25 March 2022.

“It also introduced measures which provided for certain rent payable by certain tenants (primarily in the leisure/hospitality sector) over a specified period to be ‘ringfenced’. Landlords and tenants were encouraged to try to agree how much of that rent would be paid (and on what terms). Absent any agreement, the matter could be referred to arbitration. However, those measure have also now come to an end.”

Regarding the potential legal ramifications of Twitter’s non-payment of rent, Andrew states: “non-payment of rent can give rise to forfeiture or Court proceedings for recovery of the arrears (as in this case). However, unless a landlord thinks that it can re-let the premises fairly easily, there would seem little point in forfeiture. A landlord will be left with empty premises on which it will have to pay business rates after three months.

“Moreover, empty premises are more susceptible to occupation by squatters. Many landlords are taking County Court to recover arrears, so that they can obtain a money judgment which they can look to enforce. Ordinarily, a landlord will have 6 years in which to enforce a money judgment.

“A landlord might seek to wind-up a tenant company that fails to pay a judgment debt.  I don’t imagine that Elon Musk will allow Twitter to be wound up for failing to pay rent. However, I suspect that the tenant company in this case is a group company and liquidation won’t impact on the main trading company.

“So, save for reputational damage, there may be no risks here.”

Asked about the course of actions courts will be forced to take in these proceedings, Andrew explains: “the Court won’t take action as such. It will be for the landlord to commence proceedings and Twitter may or may not defend the claim.

“If the claim is undefended, the landlord will obtain a default judgment which it can subsequently look to enforce. If the claim is defended, it probably won’t be heard for at least 18 months, unless the landlord makes a successful application for summary judgment on the grounds that Twitter has no real prospect of successfully defending the claim at trial.”

Finally, commenting on what this case means in the broader landscape of property law, Andrew concludes: “it’s virtually impossible to comment on this without knowing the basis of the claim and, more importantly, the grounds on which Twitter defends the claim.

“That said, I can’t think of any basis on which Twitter might successfully defend any claim for payment of rent arrears, so I don’t imagine this case will be ground-breaking. It’s newsworthy simply because of who the tenant is.”

Andrew’s comments were published in The Next Web, 27 January 2023.

Lawrence Stephens completes sizable transaction for Tri Capital Properties

Posted on: January 6th, 2023 by Natasha Cox

Late December 2022, Lawrence Stephens’ Commercial Real Estate team acted on behalf of Tri Capital Properties on the purchase of a mixed-use office investment for commercial and residential tenants.

The team was led by Director, Craig Mullen with assistance from Senior Director, Stephen Messias, Senior Associate, Angela McCarthy, Associate, Ana Aller and Trainee Isabella Tamlyn. The deal was exchanged at 11.30 pm on 21st December 2022 with completion taking place moments later, just before the midnight deadline.

The property boasts great views over Regents Canal, split into 4 separate buildings, comprising circa 30,000sqft of office, retail and residential use classes, and commanded huge demand. With multiple prospective buyers, it was crucial for the Lawrence Stephens team to act swiftly on behalf of Tri Capital Properties to maintain their position in the UK property arena.

Craig Mullen, Director in the Commercial Real Estate team comments: “It was a pleasure acting on behalf of the ambitious team at Tri Capital Properties. We’re thrilled they’ve been able to snap up this exciting asset management opportunity and we look forward to working with them on many more transactions”.