Restaurant Leases

[tomhumf]

Hi,

This is my first post here - please be gentle.

I am a Chef at a successful pub in Yorkshire. I am fully aware of the importance of making a good profit on food - creating dishes people want to eat, and maintaining returning customers. I am interested in starting my own business but am having trouble with a few aspects such as lease agreements.

I have just started looking at properties in my area to get an idea of what is available for the funds I have available.

I found a brochure for one which seemed interesting and stated:

Tenure
Lease terms to be negotiated. Rent to be agreed in the region of £12,000 per annum. The property will be let Free of Tie.

I enquired about viewing the property, and got this reply:

....however I would ask you to note that what is currently on offer is the long leasehold interest at a price of around £65,000. The client company has decided they wish to sell on their leasehold interest rather then letting out on a lease.

So from this I think I understand that what was originally offered would be to rent the place - and not be the leaseholder. But now they are offering to sell the lease instead?

What sort of questions should I be asking about the lease? How long is remaining on the lease? full and repairing lease?...

I don't want to sound as clueless as I obviously am. Of course I would get my solicitor involved before I agree on anything, but I would like to see how this new arrangement compares to what was originally quoted in the brochure.

Many Thanks

 

[Alan]

How long is the lease? And what is the rent payable to the freeholder? What obligations come with the lease like repair & reinstatement at the end?

I'm not an expert in these matters, but questions that spring to my mind.

 

[businessfunding]

You might do better to post this on the legal forum.

To get the best advice, why not ask for a copy of the lease to see what conditions are included?

Also ask for a schedule of what will be paid and when.

 

[tomhumf]

Thanks for your replies. I asked to see the lease, and the agent supplied me with it.

I've decided the lease cost, plus all the other start up costs will be too high for my first business. I'm going to keep looking for something a bit smaller.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

The first rule is don't give up at the start with a lease, but negotiate hard with them, What people ask for, especially when they have a long term lease to pay for on a empty unit they don't really want, and what they will eventually settle for, can be many miles apart