Tenants 'becoming more successful' in securing their own rent cuts

25-Mar-2014 - Last updated on 26-Mar-2014 at 16:57 GMT

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David Morgan: "What we’re aiming at is to empower the tenants to conduct their own rent negotiations"

Pub tenants are increasingly managing to successfully negotiate their own rent reductions, licensing chartered surveyor David Morgan has revealed.

Morgan, who is director of Morgan & Clarke chartered surveyors, said a “vast number” of his recent clients have been “hugely successful negotiators” who have been able to conduct their own rent reviews after receiving guidance on the “technicalities”.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Publican’s Morning Advertiser, Morgan said: “It’s hard for licensees who want to get on with their job but aren’t specialist chartered surveyors.

“But some of them are hugely successful negotiators. There is an avenue for tenants to stand up for themselves and it doesn’t have to cost a fortune — but they do need a good script.”

Ammunition

He added: “What we’re aiming at is to empower the tenants to conduct their own negotiations. Often they don’t need me. All they need is the ammunition — the detailed report and evaluation and rent assessment form with the calculations — that we provide. They can then use that document as their script for successfully taking on the pubcos.

“We then fade away and allow the lessee to get on with it. If it gets sticky or nasty, then — of course — we’re happy to help out. But such a vast number of them are able to do it themselves.”

Enterprise Inns lessee Gary May, who runs the Buck Hotel in Richmond, North Yorkshire, said he was able to reduce his rent from £45,924 to £27,000 last year after receiving guidance from Morgan & Clarke.

“The negotiations moved from being technically one-sided to a level playing field as I had the full back-up of the report, a definite positive that allowed me to get a solid rent result which represented a 43% reduction on my current rent,” May said.

Independent

Another client of Morgan’s, Greene King tenant Chris Hunt, of the Bottle & Glass in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, said his initial rent at the pub in 2007 was £68,000, but this rose rapidly to £78,000.

However, after negotiating with the pub company, a new rent of £49,500 was agreed last year.

Clive Chesser, business unit director for Greene King Pub Partners, said: “Together with the Bottle and Glass Pub Company we agreed to use an independent expert as a prompt and cost-effective route.”