Renewing Retail Premise Lease, No Guarantor - Advice Please

ShopTenant5

Hello, first time here, so please be understanding.

I've been running a small business shop premises for just over two years and in the coming months (before the initial 3yr lease expires later this year) I need to confirm with my landlord if I plan to renew the lease for another three years.

Should be a simple decision, however, the initial lease was taken by myself and my partner. He was the guarantor on the lease, as he owned his own house at the time. We've since separated and I am running the shop alone and renting a spare room at my friends house.

We've never failed to make payments and I desperately want to find a solution as I love what I do and want it to continue. But I have no collateral to be a guarantor myself and I have nobody close to me that can help financially.

Is there any government/council schemes that can provide support in this area at all? I'd like to think my previous years of 'good' payments and also the history of my business income would put me in good stead. 

lincroft1710

I would doubt there would be help of the sort you are seeking for an established business from either local or central government

daveyjp

If you have a lease which isn't contracted out of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 there is a strict due process to go through before a lease ends.

Has this started yet?  Either the landlord serving a s25 or you as tenant serving a s26.  If no s25 served it may be beneficial for you to serve a s26.

Now is probably the time to get back in contact with the surveyor or solicitor who negotiated and dealt with your existing lease to get advice about renewal tactics.

J_B

In our town - if any landlord has a tenant in his shop, he does everything he can to save his shop from joining the mass of empty shops around.

Food for thought.

Grumpy_chap

ShopTenant5 said:

Hello, first time here, so please be understanding.

I've been running a small business shop premises for just over two years and in the coming months (before the initial 3yr lease expires later this year) I need to confirm with my landlord if I plan to renew the lease for another three years.

Should be a simple decision, however, the initial lease was taken by myself and my partner. He was the guarantor on the lease, as he owned his own house at the time. We've since separated and I am running the shop alone and renting a spare room at my friends house.

We've never failed to make payments and I desperately want to find a solution as I love what I do and want it to continue. But I have no collateral to be a guarantor myself and I have nobody close to me that can help financially.

Is there any government/council schemes that can provide support in this area at all? I'd like to think my previous years of 'good' payments and also the history of my business income would put me in good stead. 

Do you run the shop as a Ltd Co. or as a sole trader?
The requirements for a guarantor for a commercial lease to Ltd Co may simply be for a personal guarantee by the owner / Director.  
The LL may not require an ongoing guarantor if it is a sole trader business given the trading history.
I assume the business is proven viable and that will reduce the risk to the LL