Negotiating A Commercial Warehouse Lease And Potential Changes To The Landlord And Tenant Act.

• Published date: 24 July 2023
• Law Firm: Thomson Snell & Passmore
• Author: Grace Mercer

Empty retail units displaying agents' boards were the most visible sign of our high streets through the pandemic. But online retail saw a very different picture over the same period, with e-commerce thriving and storage and distribution space at a premium.

The e-commerce industry has been growing exponentially for a number of years with more than one quarter of UK retail sales now generated by e-commerce. Notably, UK warehousing stock increased by approximately million square foot and 444 units between 2015 and 2021. Such growth was accelerated by the pandemic and strict government lockdown measures in 2020 and 2021 which drove consumers to shop online.

Although post-pandemic the e-commerce sales market saw a small decline, e-commerce is expected to represent 38.1% of all retail sales in the UK by 2025. As a result, there is an increasing need for additional warehousing space.

With warehouse space at a premium, careful consideration should be given to the drafting of any new lease. A common mistake is to think it's all about the rent. It's not! Other issues including...