Business Legal Services

Commercial Property Solicitors

Our commercial property team specialise in negotiating, advising on and drafting a wide variety of property agreements that businesses enter into on a daily basis.

Understand the details, commitments and potential risks of your commercial property agreements with our swift, pragmatic, business focused advice.

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What we do

Commercial property legal advice

Commercial property is often one of the biggest financial commitments a business will make. Whether you’re leasing your first office or managing a portfolio of sites, negotiating preferable terms and understanding any risk or liability can be a challenge.

Rely on our commercial property solicitors to support your business, avoid pitfalls and help you achieve your commercial goals.

We support commercial landlords and commercial tenants, sellers, buyers, occupiers, funders, developers and investors across the UK in all areas of commercial property law, including:

Commercial Leases

supporting tenants and landlords to agree fair and practical terms.

  • Leases
  • Subleases
  • Licence for Alterations
  • Rent Deposit Deeds
  • Licence to Assign
  • Deed of Assignment
  • Lease Re-gears
  • Surrenders
  • Deed of Variation

Construction

from inception to completion, we can support construction and engineering projects with:

  • contract and agreement drafting
  • professional appointments
  • pre-construction service agreements
  • performance bonds
  • collateral warranties
  • construction dispute resolution

Corporate Support

Whether you’re looking to buy or sell a business, assets or shares; restructure; demerge; secure investment or carry out a management buyout, we provide co-ordinated support to handle any property elements of your transaction

Development Agreements

to define the obligations of a developer

Dispute Resolution

reaching solutions to issues through alternative dispute resolution and litigation services

Portfolio Management

from day to day management to long term strategic advice with support on the full range of agreements for:

  • Commercial Leases
  • Temporary use
  • Sale and Purchase
  • Dispute Resolution
  • Property Finance
  • Group restructuring

Property Finance

supporting all manner of real estate transactions, including:

  • Secured Lending
  • Refinancing
  • Corporate Support

Sale and Purchase Agreements

for all forms of commercial real estate including:

  • Conditional Sale Agreements
  • Option Agreements
  • Pre-emption Agreements
  • Overage Agreements

Temporary Usage

allowing flexibility, through agreements such as:

  • Tenancy at Will
  • Licence to Occupy

Unregistered land

and applying to the Land Registry for registration

Along with advising on commercial property matters, our corporate team can assist with your business structure, funding and governance; and our construction team can assist with the procurement of contractors.

Meet our team

Why choose our commercial property solicitors?

One of our USPs is that our senior solicitors are all recruited from top 100 UK law firms or large international businesses, providing City-grade expert advice but at a fraction of the cost. This is thanks to our innovative model of remote operating and billing mainly by monthly subscription.

Our commercial property team are able to draw on years of experience acting for clients from both the public and private sectors. See who could be acting for you:


Who we help

Commercial landlords and commercial tenants/occupiers

Everything that your business does hinges on its ability to understand and manage the commitments, potential risks and timescales of the property agreements it enters into. These will often be influenced by industry or sector so being able to rely on someone who understands your challenges and can fight your corner is essential.

Our experience covers agreements for a wide range of industries and business types: from sole traders to SMEs; OMBs and large corporations, including PLCs.

Notable highlights include:

  • Acting for a National Utilities Provider, managing a multimillion pound installation project for four major gas pipelines across a total of 180 miles comprising largely unregistered land
  • Providing strategic and operational legal advice relating to (and the day to day management of) a major UK university’s diverse real estate portfolio of 230 plus buildings (valued at more than £2 billion) and a ten-year capital spend project of £1.25 billion.
  • Advising a global, LSE listed software solutions company on its relocation to c.16,000 sq ft Grade A office space in The Shard, London; and 4,000 sq ft office space at Didsbury Point, Manchester and the related exit from their former premises.
  • Full management of the estate portfolio of both a major high street bank and the Defence Estates including mixed use, training and industrial properties
  • Acting for household name charity, retail and leisure clients acquiring, disposing and managing their property portfolios.
  • Advising a global aerospace company on the rationalisation of its property portfolio, including settling dilapidations claims on former premises.
  • Acting for a recognised leading construction company (based in the North of England, Central and Southern Scotland) with a group turnover of circa £242million in connection with a site acquisition, with a side-to-side sale to a Registered Provider and onward joint venture in connection with the development of the scheme.

Working with businesses to provide support in property

Notable projects

Our commercial property lawyers have been involved in a variety of deals and transactions, including:

Sector | Residential Care

Property type | Care Home

Deal Value | £9,250,000

Transaction type | Purchase

Our commercial property team helped a large residential care home operator purchase several properties with a transaction value of over £9.25m. We conducted due diligence checks and searches on all properties, negotiated terms and completed the transactions over a relatively short period of time.

Sector | Industrial Wholesaler

Property Type | Business Premises

Deal Value | £348,000

Transaction Type | Purchase

Our commercial property solicitors helped an industrial wholesaler acquire a property in South Yorkshire. We handled all aspects of the purchase process, from due diligence to negotiation to the drafting of contracts. Our experience of working with industrial businesses ensured the transaction was problem free.

Sector | Leisure and Entertainment

Property type | Casino

Deal Value | £1,525,000

Transaction type | Purchase

Advising a casino operator on the successful purchase of a commercial property in Central Birmingham for £1,525,000. Using our local knowledge of the area, we helped our client evaluate their financing options, negotiate heads of terms and complete the transaction in a limited timeframe.

Sector | Residential Care

Property type | Care Home

Deal Value | £9,250,000

Transaction type | Purchase

Our commercial property team helped a large residential care home operator purchase several properties with a transaction value of over £9.25m. We conducted due diligence checks and searches on all properties, negotiated terms and completed the transactions over a relatively short period of time.

Sector | Industrial Wholesaler

Property Type | Business Premises

Deal Value | £348,000

Transaction Type | Purchase

Our commercial property solicitors helped an industrial wholesaler acquire a property in South Yorkshire. We handled all aspects of the purchase process, from due diligence to negotiation to the drafting of contracts. Our experience of working with industrial businesses ensured the transaction was problem free.

Sector | Leisure and Entertainment

Property type | Casino

Deal Value | £1,525,000

Transaction type | Purchase

Advising a casino operator on the successful purchase of a commercial property in Central Birmingham for £1,525,000. Using our local knowledge of the area, we helped our client evaluate their financing options, negotiate heads of terms and complete the transaction in a limited timeframe.

Testimonials

What our clients say

...very efficient and helpful, especially given that it was difficult logistically with most of the directors away!
Adam Fraser-Harris Finance Director, Blow Ltd
Friendly, helpful and efficient. Thank you!
Beverly Clough Group HR Director, The Guild of Property Professionals
Outstanding so far. Please keep it like this!
Dimitri Konstantindi Director, Homely Appartments
Harper James never fail to impress with the speed and efficiency of their service, no matter the query. The team are friendly, knowledgeable and always on hand.
Karis Walker Project Managing Officer, Thyssenkrupp
Speed of turnaround and clear advice
Ian Rose Head of Networks, AllStar Business Solutions
Fast, flexible access to specialists.
Derek Moore CEO and Co-Founder, Coffee & TV
Harper James Solicitors provides excellent value for money and helps to cover gaps in specialist areas of legal practice. Using an outside legal provider enables us, as a business, to better manage our internal resources, the volume of work we have and to deal with our level of overall risk. I would undoubtedly recommend them to others.
Robert Cowling General Counsel, FleetCor
10/10, very happy with the service and the relationship … comments from Sam are presented in a way that is easy to understand – rather than being blinded by legal jargon! Very approachable, pragmatic and efficient, especially as we had to do substantial chasing on the recent legal engagement
Karen Page Office Manager, DenseAir
I really value Sam’s pragmatic approach to getting things done but also the lack of ‘dryness’ when getting information across to help me make decisions. I’m completely happy with the service and have already recommended Harper James to others!
Abby Edwards Team Lead, RLP Resourcing
Extremely helpful, very communicative and got the job done promptly. We were under time pressure, and on a tight budget - HJ dealt with both perfectly.
Andrew Slater MD, Kin Partners Ltd
Harper James is the right fit for us, I was attracted to the firm by the experience and reputation of their large team of specialist solicitors. And best of all, I have this support at a price point that’s very competitive compared to their competition.
Andrew Worsley Chairman, Harbour Healthcare
Matt and Paul understand the brief, and they understand our business. Their attention to detail and joined-up approach is excellent. They’re able to understand exactly what we need and the vision of the group going forward. Growing at this rate presents some risk, so having a legal team that appreciates this and supports us with the legal advice we need to take on every challenge in our mission to scale is key.
Alex Newey Chairman, Greosn
The new format of the Summary Report that is provided with a property lease is commendable - this is the type of document that non-legal people can read and quickly understand the important points about the property.
Matthew Dreaper CFO, Oxford Space Systems
Rachel Jones and Sam Paxton have been efficient, proactive and communicate well. Very nice to work with!
Andrew Worsley Chairman , Harbour Healthcare
Kara has really become a part of our team. She has been meticulous in following up with the other side and is extremely proactive in reviewing our lease agreements. I liked that we were always working with Kara on every occasion, she understands our business goals and that was very important to us when seeking legal advice.
Florence Roosendaal Head of Expansion and Projects, The Park Playground
...very efficient and helpful, especially given that it was difficult logistically with most of the directors away!
Adam Fraser-Harris Finance Director, Blow Ltd
Friendly, helpful and efficient. Thank you!
Beverly Clough Group HR Director, The Guild of Property Professionals
Outstanding so far. Please keep it like this!
Dimitri Konstantindi Director, Homely Appartments
Harper James never fail to impress with the speed and efficiency of their service, no matter the query. The team are friendly, knowledgeable and always on hand.
Karis Walker Project Managing Officer, Thyssenkrupp
Speed of turnaround and clear advice
Ian Rose Head of Networks, AllStar Business Solutions
Fast, flexible access to specialists.
Derek Moore CEO and Co-Founder, Coffee & TV
Harper James Solicitors provides excellent value for money and helps to cover gaps in specialist areas of legal practice. Using an outside legal provider enables us, as a business, to better manage our internal resources, the volume of work we have and to deal with our level of overall risk. I would undoubtedly recommend them to others.
Robert Cowling General Counsel, FleetCor
10/10, very happy with the service and the relationship … comments from Sam are presented in a way that is easy to understand – rather than being blinded by legal jargon! Very approachable, pragmatic and efficient, especially as we had to do substantial chasing on the recent legal engagement
Karen Page Office Manager, DenseAir
I really value Sam’s pragmatic approach to getting things done but also the lack of ‘dryness’ when getting information across to help me make decisions. I’m completely happy with the service and have already recommended Harper James to others!
Abby Edwards Team Lead, RLP Resourcing
Extremely helpful, very communicative and got the job done promptly. We were under time pressure, and on a tight budget - HJ dealt with both perfectly.
Andrew Slater MD, Kin Partners Ltd
Harper James is the right fit for us, I was attracted to the firm by the experience and reputation of their large team of specialist solicitors. And best of all, I have this support at a price point that’s very competitive compared to their competition.
Andrew Worsley Chairman, Harbour Healthcare
Matt and Paul understand the brief, and they understand our business. Their attention to detail and joined-up approach is excellent. They’re able to understand exactly what we need and the vision of the group going forward. Growing at this rate presents some risk, so having a legal team that appreciates this and supports us with the legal advice we need to take on every challenge in our mission to scale is key.
Alex Newey Chairman, Greosn
The new format of the Summary Report that is provided with a property lease is commendable - this is the type of document that non-legal people can read and quickly understand the important points about the property.
Matthew Dreaper CFO, Oxford Space Systems
Rachel Jones and Sam Paxton have been efficient, proactive and communicate well. Very nice to work with!
Andrew Worsley Chairman , Harbour Healthcare
Kara has really become a part of our team. She has been meticulous in following up with the other side and is extremely proactive in reviewing our lease agreements. I liked that we were always working with Kara on every occasion, she understands our business goals and that was very important to us when seeking legal advice.
Florence Roosendaal Head of Expansion and Projects, The Park Playground

Protecting your business

Avoid these commercial property traps

We’ve helped too many clients who’ve come to us with a dispute due to ’box ticking’ at the beginning.

Looking at the details, considering the commitments and how the property will support your business strategy now and into the future will save you time and money in the long run.

Here are some of the common issues we’ll make sure you avoid:

Badly drafted repair obligations, insured / uninsured risk provisions or service charge provisions

Mistakes here can result in your business having potential liabilities that are completely disproportionate to the value of your interest in a premises.

Badly drafted break clauses

This may leave you with no option to break at all or must litigate to be certain that a break notice has been validly served.

Your rights aren't enforceable

Cutting corners by opting for cheap solutions upfront could mean you’re faced with no choice but to enter into litigation. The time, cost and uncertainty of going to litigation massively exceeds the time and cost of getting the job properly done in the first place.


Pricing plans

Legal support designed
to fit your business needs

Our three transparent pricing packages are designed to give you the widest possible access to high-quality legal advice, whatever the size and nature of your business:

City

Straightforward access to senior solicitors at a competitive rate.

An affordable solution for businesses needing one-off legal support. Receive ‘City’ partner-level expertise at a fraction of ‘City’ prices.

On-Demand

Providing you with priority access to a dedicated panel of highly experienced solicitors.

Fully account managed quarterly subscription service for businesses with more complex legal needs.




What next?

Please leave us your details and we’ll contact you to discuss your situation and legal requirements. There’s no charge for your initial consultation, and no-obligation to instruct us. We aim to respond to all messages received within 24 hours.

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Our offices

A national law firm

A national law firm

Our commercial lawyers are based in or close to major cities across the UK, providing expert legal advice to clients both locally and nationally.

We mainly work remotely, so we can work with you wherever you are. But we can arrange face-to-face meeting at our offices or a location of your choosing.

Floor 5, Cavendish House, 39-41 Waterloo Street, Birmingham, B2 5PP
Stirling House, Cambridge Innovation Park, Denny End Road, Waterbeach, Cambridge, CB25 9QE
13th Floor, Piccadilly Plaza, Manchester, M1 4BT
10 Fitzroy Square, London, W1T 5HP
Harwell Innovation Centre, 173 Curie Avenue, Harwell, Oxfordshire, OX11 0QG
1st Floor, Dearing House, 1 Young St, Sheffield, S1 4UP
A national law firm

To access legal support from just £145 per hour arrange your no-obligation initial consultation to discuss your business requirements.

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