The Occupier View.

Small occupiers win; everyone else should budget for a 3.5% rise, whatever the word “freeze” suggests. Multi-site operators should check now which units fall under the new £18,000 line, because that changes what a store is worth to them and what rent it can carry. And with rates moving to local control, the bill will start to depend on the council. That makes location a tax decision as well as a property one.

When a law firm closes, its office does not vanish; it comes to the market, usually fitted out and often at a discount. City occupiers looking at 2027 moves should watch for Weil’s London space and for space from firms that take on its partners and then need to shed their own. Landlords facing an unexpected vacancy are motivated. It is also a reminder to check a landlord’s tenant mix before signing: one failing anchor can change a building.

A landlord that must sell wants its buildings to look fully let and long-income. That is leverage for tenants in DWS assets: a regear, an extension or a surrender is worth more to a forced seller than in a normal market. Occupiers in these buildings should open talks before a sale, when the landlord needs the deal, rather than after, when a new owner sets terms. Tenants of other open-ended funds should ask the same questions.

Three floors of under 8,000 sq ft, two of them headquarters, show how small a London head office can now be. A floor-by-floor building that fills quickly gives landlords confidence, so occupiers of this size should not expect long rent-free periods in good South Bank stock. The Frameworks deal is the other lesson: a managed floor beside a conventional one gives growing tenants room to expand without signing for space they do not yet need.

A new owner that says publicly it wants to regear every lease has told its tenants what it needs. A regear lengthens the landlord’s income and lifts the building’s value, so tenants should not give it away. Any extension should come with rent-free time, a share of the upgrade, a break option or better dilapidations terms. Occupiers at Matrix House should take advice before the first conversation, not after the landlord’s first offer.

Almost 100 people in 3,442 sq ft is about 35 sq ft a head, a dense layout that only works with good amenities around it. That is the trade regional firms are making: less space, better location, and a city centre that helps hiring. Council-backed schemes such as The Forum need anchor names, so tech and professional firms in similar towns should expect the council and developer to compete for them on fit-out and incentives.

One failed tenant’s building became three new homes inside six months of refurbishment. Small, well-located units remain scarce, and refurbished stock lets fast. Occupiers needing 5,000 to 15,000 sq ft should watch insolvencies for space that a landlord will split, and should talk to the owner during the works, not after. Those who wait for the “to let” board will compete with everyone else; those who ask early can shape the specification.

A 20-year lease is a long bet for any operator, and the right one only when the terms work hard enough. Leisure occupiers that bring footfall to a scheme have leverage: landlords want them to fill big units that retailers no longer need. Operators should use that to secure rent-free time, capital contributions, turnover-linked rent or breaks. Twenty years without a way out is a risk the landlord should be paying for.

Small occupiers are choosing character buildings with shared amenities over plain suites, and those buildings are filling. For firms under 3,000 sq ft, the shared gym, showers and meeting rooms mean they do not have to build them. The point to check is the service charge, which pays for all of it. Ask for the budget and the last three years’ actual costs before signing, and seek a cap if the building is filling fast.

Higher employment costs feed straight into how much space firms are willing to commit to. Expect more caution on headcount and more demand for flexible terms, including shorter leases and breaks. Friday’s harassment rule also matters for the workplace itself. Front-of-house, reception and customer-facing areas may need changes, and occupiers should check that their leases allow alterations such as screens and controlled entry without lengthy landlord consent.