Our commercial property team is led by Mark Phillips, having extensive experience in dealing with commercial property related matters and is championing the position of the commercial landlords who, too often, suffer disproportionately in an insolvency process.

Mark says:

This is going to be a critical year for the commercial property market, as Covid-19 support packages come to an end, companies review the performance of working from home versus the cost of offices and the impact of lockdown on the retail market is likely to decimate the high street. Landlords need to act decisively before matters are taken out of their hands as there will no doubt be numerous insolvencies as a result of the economic fallout from the pandemic."

Even in normal times, late payment and defaulting tenants are a fact of life for landlords. This has been further complicated by the implementation of The Coronavirus Act 2020 (CVA 2020) which affects the ability of landlords to recover possession.

The first sign of rent arrears should not be ignored. In some cases, late payment may be the result of temporary cash flow difficulties that can be resolved with a simple dialogue between landlord and tenant. However, the arrears may be an indicator of more serious difficulties or insolvency, leaving the landlord with vacant premises, resulting in a claim for the arrears, dilapidations, and future loss of rent which might not be recoverable, even in part.

Our experience is that a business in difficulty will often prioritise payments and rent often gets put to the bottom of the pile.

The SKSi team believe that landlords can remain in greater control by addressing problems at an early stage. By being alert to the warning signs, you will be able to act upon tenant arrears and with the involvement and advice of SKSi you can gain a better understanding of your tenant’s financial circumstances and the options available to you and to them.

A professional review at an early stage, can highlight existing and potential problems and enable a “turnaround” to be undertaken by the tenant.

SKSi takes an intelligence-based approach, giving insight into the stability and ongoing viability of the tenant company, which, in turn, allows potential difficulties to be identified, planned for and mitigated.

If you have a tenant with rent arrears or you can see problems on the horizon and want to learn more about our unique approach, please contact Fred Satow.