leasing commercial shop - property manager

We are scoping out commercial premises for a food fit-out and have a shop I'm looking at next week which is in a great location.

I have some info from the agent and am meeting him next week, but I also got a call from the property manager who demanded some info.

The shop is in a busy complex...

who am I going to be dealing with on a regular basis on site?, and do we have rights to privacy as a tenant? my biggest concern is going to be someone always sticking their nose in and saying what we can and can't do.

 

It will depend on the shopping centre - larger ones (AMP, Stocklands etc) will have a centre Manager, retail manager, Property Manager, lease administrator, leasing bod & operations/facility manager etc. You may be dealing with lots of people. Small centres will have a part time CM & property mgr across several assets.

Physically very few as shops/kiosks are generally pretty much open (back of house/prep area will be off limits without notification of entry)

Yes, quite likely. Your usage clause may be very specific eg. Canned drinks (not bottles), flavoured milks, pies, pasties, sausage rolls but not focaccias, sandwiches, wraps or bread rolls. The retail manager will check compliance.

Agent is the lease executive (bends you over), property manager (or lease administrator) will prepare the disclosure statement which will be the proposal. The PM then collects the rent/insurances etc.

 

OK thanks for the reply, very detailed.

The centre is small around 15 shops, but it's very busy and in a premium area. There were 2 signs on the windows, one for the property manager and one for the leasing agent.

So I figure the property manager is not the landlord but just a company to manage the centre?. wouldn't the landlord vet the tenants?

I will have a solicitor look over the contract next week after I inspect it and see what he says

 

Also do you have any tips about neg the lease? the asking rent is 35K per annum which I thought was quite reasonable, the ad says the landlord is motivated and there is not much else for lease in the area

I have read that many ask for a 3 month free rent out of a 2 year lease to start, but what about a capex spend for a partial fit out?

 

Our local Woolies-anchored centre uses separate leasing from property/centre management.

 

What are your outgoings?

Where are they proposing the turnover rent (@ what %?

Are they offering exclusive use?

You can ask for whatever you like but whether they agree to it is another matter.

What lease term are they offering, they are bound to offer 5 years, you can negotiate for shorter.

What are the reviews? (anything above CPI will be difficult)

How's the footfall in the centre?

What's your competition?