Welcome to the latest publication of our Real Estate & Projects Newsletter and accompanying Vlog.
This month our newsletter is themed around the work of our commercial property team with a focus on issues for investors and occupiers when contemplating buying, selling, letting or taking a lease of a commercial building.
This newsletter features:
- A discussion between Devonshires Head of Commercial Property, Dan Moan and Heather Powell, Property Construction lead at Blick Rothenberg tax advisors on the legal and accounting pitfalls of purchasing commercial property.
- Marisa Lambkin, a Senior Associate in our Commercial Property team discussing on 5 key points to look at from the points of view of landlords and tenants when considering Heads of Terms for a commercial lease
- An interview with insights on the Government’s 10-year Infrastructure Plan with Caroline Mostowfi
- The Law Commission’s review of the 1954 Act
- Key points for investor landlords upon learning of tenant insolvency
- Our views on proposed changes to ban upward only commercial rent reviews.
We hope you continue to enjoy the content and find it useful.
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If you would like to get in touch with any one of our team members, please click here for contact details.
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Featured articles
Pitfalls of purchasing commercial property
Dan Moan of Devonshires and Heather Powell of Blick Rothenberg, a tax, accountancy and business advisory firm, discuss key considerations investors should consider when buying property. They discuss the need for proper advice at HOTs stage, consideration of exit strategies and tax planning for an investment.
Blick Rothenberg’s initial post with the full length video and their tax advice can be found here: The legal and accounting pitfalls of commercial property
If you would like to discuss the contents of the interview with us further, please get in touch.
Dan Moan
Partner
020 7880 4336
5 key points on Heads of Terms for commercial leases
Marisa Lambkin discusses 5 key parts of heads of terms from the negotiating positions of both landlords and tenants when looking at entering into a commercial lease.
The vlog provides a brief insight into the following topics:
- The 1954 Act and the benefits of included vs excluded tenancies
- Repair obligations and how these can be mitigated
- Exit strategies – alienation and where controls may be needed.
- Exit strategies – break clauses
- Types of rent review and considerations of their suitability to the proposed lease
If you would like to discuss the matters raised by Marisa in her interview, please get in touch
Marisa Lambkin
Senior Associate
020 7880 4426
Insights on the Government’s 10 year infrastructure plan
Caroline Mostowfi discusses the new ten-year infrastructure plan, including in particular:
- the inclusion of the concept of ‘social’ infrastructure within the new strategy; and
- the role of private finance and investment, including what the future may hold for PPP/PFI and/or alternative risk transfer models, set against what previous programmes have delivered.
Caroline also touches on the following themes:
- The scope of the new infrastructure funding package - £725 billion
- The spatial approach to infrastructure planning adopted within the plan
- The new National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (“NISTA”) and NISTA’s newly published project pipeline tool
For now, if you would like to discuss the matters raised by Caroline in her interview, please get in touch.
Caroline Mostowfi
Partner
020 7065 1855
The Law Commission’s Review of the 1954 Act
The Law Commission have been consulting on possible changes to the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 and specifically, security of tenure for business leases. They have now published interim statement to consider what next steps might be for the future of the Act and the excluded/included tenancy regime. We have been keeping a close eye on the position and here consider what might be the outcome of their review and how this will affect landlords, tenants and their respective business interests. The full article with detailed analysis can be found here: Law Commission’s review of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 in respect - business leases and security of tenure
Grant Duranti
Senior Associate
020 7880 4355
Dan Moan
Partner
020 7880 4336
Neil Lawlor
Partner
020 7880 4273
Considerations on Insolvency for Investor Landlords
This article considers recent high street insolvency cases, and the options available for investor landlords when faced with tenant insolvency. This can often be a nightmare situation for a landlord unprepared to lose a large or well known tenant from their asset, but it is a problem faced frequently and sometimes unexpectedly when letting on the High Street.
In this piece we consider what landlords can expect from tenant restructuring agendas, whether forfeiture provisions under a lease can or should be utilised and how to act in the best interests of the landlord for capital protection, how security can be leveraged to help with debts and costs of reletting and whether there is a potential chance for the landlord to use tenant insolvency to their advantage.
The article is featured here: Investors, Insolvency and necessary Investigations - steps for landlords
If you are a landlord facing potential tenant insolvency or want to discuss anything raised in the article, please do contact us.
Marisa Lambkin
Senior Associate
020 7880 4426
Ben Halsey
Knowledge Development Lawyer
020 7065 1898
Reform in Rent Review – Proposal Banning Upward-Only Rent Reviews
Our review of the proposed changes detailed in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill published 10 July 2025, which has critical implications for commercial landlords as it proposes banning upward-only rent reviews as an attempt to rejuvenate British high streets. The article unpacks which types of rent reviews are likely to be covered, the benefits that are intended to be conferred on tenants by the introduction of the Bill and what the implications of such a step in fundamentally changing our deep seated expectations on rent reviews in commercial lettings is likely to have in the commercial property sector.
Our detailed article can be found here: Proposal to Outlaw Upwards Only Rent Reviews
If you would like to discuss your own commercial lease portfolio and how this may affect you, please get in touch.
Jamie Barden
Trainee Solicitor
020 7065 1938
Dan Moan
Partner
020 7880 4336
Ben Halsey
Knowledge Development Lawyer
020 7065 1898
Chancel Repair Consultations
Chancel repair has been a consideration upon buying or leasing property for perhaps a longer time than was anticipated by the sweeping reforms of 2013. This article summarises the findings of the Law Commission’s consultation paper on the topic, considers the next steps the Law Commission have recommended and how this might make chancel repair more clearly identifiable on an acquisition.
The article can be found here: Should I stay or should I go? The Law Commission (LC) is consulting on future of chancel repair liability
A consultation is open with the Law Commission until 15 November 2025 on these proposed changes if you would like to have your say on the proposals.
Marisa Lambkin
Senior Associate
020 7880 4426
Ben Halsey
Knowledge Development Lawyer
020 7065 1898
In other news
In a very recent announcement, the Government is now considering reviving public-private partnerships (PPPs) to fund new neighbourhood health centres as part of its NHS 10-year plan, with a final decision expected in the autumn budget - a move that would arguably signal a cautious return to a funding model that was paused eight years ago. If adopted, this could undoubtedly accelerate infrastructure delivery despite existing tight public finances, but there are also lessons to learn and which would need to be addressed in any new funding programme - including in respect of cost, flexibility, and asset hand-back. Devonshires have a long history of advising on PFI and PPP projects and will be following this closely.
Watch out in the coming editions for:
- Our September Shared Ownership special
- Tips on shared ownership site set up
- The Shared Ownership Code
- Lease extensions in Shared Ownership portfolios
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