Commercial Property Solicitors

Commercial conveyancing deals with property that is used by a company or an individual in the course of their business. This includes things like development sites, industrial units and high street shops. Although the process is broadly the same, much of the relevant law is different, as well as the client’s approach and ultimate objectives.

Much like a residential transaction, a commercial transaction will follow many of the same key steps. The broad overview can be summarised as follows:

1. A contract pack will be issued by the seller’s/landlord’s solicitor;
2. The purchaser’s/tenant’s solicitor will raise enquiries, including by reference to the commercial property standard enquiries;
3. The purchaser’s/tenant’s solicitor will review the replies to enquiries and the title to the property and report to their client;
4. The purchaser/tenant will put their solicitor in funds for completion;
5. The respective solicitors will complete the transaction; and
6. The purchaser’s/tenant’s solicitor will deal with the registration of the transaction at HM Land Registry (if applicable).

Depending on a client’s requirements, a client generally has freedom to choose the level of due diligence they require. As the property is to be used for business purposes, rather than as a home, clients can manage the level of due diligence as they see fit.

If a client has a lender, the level of due diligence required will normally increase as the lender must satisfy themselves of the property.

Depending on the level of due diligence required, it is difficult to give a broad timescale for a transaction. The average timescale would be 8 to 12 weeks, although many transactions can be completed in a much shorter timescale.

The usual commercial searches include a local authority search, environmental search and a drainage and water search. These searches can reveal important information that may otherwise not be apparent from your inspections of the property. You should always consult with your commercial property solicitor regarding searches, and in many cases there can be specific searches that you may require.

In addition to legal fees, you would also likely need to budget for the following:

• Stamp duty land tax;
• HM Land Registry registration fees; and
• Searches fees.

Your commercial property solicitor will be able to provide you with an estimate of fees for any given transaction.

Commercial property, unlike residential property, can be elected for VAT. This means that on a purchase or lease of a commercial property, you may also be liable to pay VAT in addition to the purchase price or the rent payable. Whether or not a property is elected for VAT should be revealed by the enquiries raised by your solicitor on your behalf.

We have had experience in successfully dealing with a wide range of commercial property matters, including:

• The purchase of multimillion pound development sites;
• Conveyancing for charities, including sales, purchases and leases; and
• Leases of high street shops.