Client: Pizza Express - Kings Road
The Pheasantry is an historic listed Georgian building located on the Kings Road, originally used to raise pheasants for the royal household. Our client, Pizza Express, which pays an annual rent of £175,000, has occupied the property for over ten years.
At its latest rent review, the landlord served notice of a proposed rental uplift to £325,000 per annum. Our restaurant experts set about to negotiate an alternative level with the landlord’s agent.
Our solution
The lease on The Pheasantry indicated its use for restaurant or retail purposes, so the landlord’s comparable evidence was solely derived from nearby shop units which were comanding Zone A rents of £300 psf in this fashionable part of Chelsea.
Our team, however, presented a counter-argument. We demonstrated that the property’s Grade II listed status - which meant that no signage could be displayed on the front of the property - would be of limited appeal to retailers, and therefore restaurant use is more appropriate for this unique building. Typical rental values for restaurants were around £75.00 psf.
Result
The landlord accepted our argument, and the review was settled at £250,000 per annum, representing a saving of £375,000 to Pizza Express over the five-year term.
Also, we were able to use the rent review settlement to our advantage in negotiations with the Valuation Office. We reduced the rating assessment from £248,000 to £195,000 resulting in rates savings to Pizza Express of £81,500.
|
|