We were approached by a firm of solicitors to provide urgent advice to their client who was about to commit to a set of Heads of Terms produced by the landlord in connection with the leasing of around 2,500 sq ft of restaurant space in west London.
The client was unfamiliar with leasing in the UK and the Heads of Terms as drafted would have left them very exposed.
An inspection of the premises was arranged within 24 hours and a meeting with the landlord held within 48 hours.
The advice following the inspection, further research and the meeting with the landlord was to walk away from the transaction even though the property held a favourable corner position and benefited from other attributes that would have allowed the client's concept to work well.
The terms on offer were in no way commercial and the landlord was not prepared to grant enough time to carry out the due diligence which was required.
The speed and clarity of advice saved the client money in terms of initial legal and planning fees for a project which was potentially not viable and could have left them with a huge rental commitment for the duration of the lease.
We are now instructed to source further opportunities with A3 use for this client in west and north west London.