Northcape

Leasing Advisory Service (LAS)

This service is popular with franchise business’s, retailer associations and marketing/buying groups who have a high number of independent members and want guidance on all matters leasing. Understandably most retailers are pre-occupied with running their business’ and probably do not have the time nor inclination to be familiar with all of the terms and conditions of their lease.

This is where we come in – we provide an on-call leasing advisory service whereby all members are encouraged to contact us to discuss any element of their lease, regardless of how complex the issue may be. Whatever the problem, our Lease Advisory Service (LAS) allows members to contact us by phone or email to obtain accurate, professional and reliable advice ranging from anything involving lease negotiations, options to renew, market rent reviews, outgoings calculations and insurance disputes, just to name a few.

Introducing a new formalised member benefit such as LAS, would be a unique selling point for your organisation and genuinely provide members with a powerful resource, so why not call us to discuss how we can tailor a LAS solution for you?

Lease Negotiation Representation (LNR)

Where a retailer has little or no experience negotiating leases or they simply do not feel comfortable negotiating with their landlord, our Lease Negotiation Representation (LNR) service is recommended.

This service is based on acting on behalf of a retailer in respect to negotiating commercial lease terms with landlords. Once we are formally appointed, we obtain a brief in respect to what commercial terms are acceptable to you and then negotiate with the landlord to obtain the best commercial outcome on your behalf. During the course of negotiations we will at all times keep you abreast of developments and provide regular status updates.

This service effectively allows the you to leave the grunt work to us. After taking instructions from you as to commercial terms, we handle all negotiations with the landlord (or their agents) to the point where an agreement is reached and signed off by yourself.

Sometimes negotiations are protracted and take longer than expected through no particular fault of any of the parties. Where this occurs an additional charge will apply if negotiations exceed these parameters, however we will be transparent throughout the entire process.

Enhanced Property Services (EPS)

EPS is a combination of both LAS and LNR. With the ever increasing burden of employment costs putting pressure on profits, many retailers are considering alternatives to increasing their head count, whilst still being able to meet their corporate objectives.

Outsourcing part or all of your property functions could be a smart alternative. We provide a wide range of services as noted below, so why not call us to discuss how we can tailor a solution for you;

• Lease Negotiation Representation (LNR)
• Lease Advisory Service (LAS)
• Strategic Planning
• Site Evaluation, Selection and Closures
• Lease Portfolio Management
• Due Diligence (Acquisition/Merger and Disposals)
• Lease Administration
• Organisational Structuring

Dispute Resolution and Mediation (DR&M)

Sometimes during the course of lease negotiations, an impasse or a serious disagreement occurs between the parties and causes a major deadlock. The landlord may be belligerent and uncompromising or the retailer may be too emotionally involved and perhaps not thinking commercially.

A dispute may not necessarily involve negotiating a new rent but rather relate to any number of areas within an existing lease. Issues such as market rent reviews, recoverable outgoings calculations, insurance matters, redevelopment plans, relocations, water damage and “permitted use” disagreements are very common.

Introducing a third party may diffuse the situation and bring a new perspective to negotiations. This is where we can assist – we have over 25 years experience in retail property and been involved in the resolution of many retailer disputes, most of which were on a legal footing and would have likely progressed through the court system.

Our experience includes formal mediations involving the NSW Retail Tenancy Unit and mediations negotiated independently. In the majority of cases a negotiated settlement was reached and legal action not pursued. As we have worked on the “both sides of the fence”, we know how the other party thinks, so we are better equipped to work through a solution acceptable to both parties.

Whilst every dispute is different and always has it’s own unique set of circumstances, we believe that most situations are salvageable and are able to be resolved amicably. Of course there are no guarantees that a dispute can be resolved and in some isolated cases we may recommend that the matter be escalated and legal action pursued.

If you have a major dispute, don’t lose any more sleep and contact us to see how we may be able to assist you resolve the matter.

Would you like to know more?

If you are a franchisor, national chain, independent retailer, retailer association or marketing/buying group and would like to talk to us about our services please contact us via email or phone: 0412 300 907.