Abbey Business Centres was established in 1998 and was privately owned by The Lord Laidlaw of Rothiemay, one of Scotland’s most successful businessmen and philanthropists.

Background

Abbey Offices was keen to expand its network of sites across central London by opening a new prestigious facility located in the City core to compliment its other 13 centres across the UK.

When, in June 2008, Swiss Re took the decision to release the 15th floor at 30 St.Mary Axe, EC3, McCalmont-Woods quickly introduced the accommodation to Abbey Offices. The premises comprised 17,000 sq ft of fitted-out office space on the highest floor occupied by Swiss Re in the iconic ‘Gherkin’ building with commanding views over the City of London and across to the West End and Canary Wharf.

Outcome

Initially, Swiss Re had been seeking to let its surplus offices on a traditional lease (at a quoting rent of £62.50 per sq ft) but McCalmont-Woods was able to convince the Swiss insurer to instead enter into an Operator Management Agreement (‘OMA’) with Abbey Offices and after twelve months exhaustive negotiations, Abbey Offices opened its new City business centre in June 2009. The innovative structure of the OMA required a detailed financial model to be constructed, enabling both parties to benchmark future operating success.

Julie Calder, Managing Director
“Nick McCalmont-Woods has represented Abbey Business Centres for three years, initially in his previous position, but when he set up on his own, it was an obvious move for me to continue to use his services. Nick is a professional who sets himself apart by being clearly focused on understanding his client’s ultimate requirements and then securing them.”

Background

Cazenove Capital Management occupied 34,000 sq ft at 12 Moorgate, EC2 under a 25-year lease dating from 1998. Prior to selling its freehold interest in the property, landlord New Star Property Asset Management sought to increase the annual office rent payable at review from £47.00 per sq ft passing to a new rent based on a highly optimistic £60.00 per sq ft.

McCalmont-Woods was referred by its existing client JP Morgan Cazenove and was subsequently instructed by Cazenove Capital Management to negotiate the upward only rent review with a view to mitigating any uplift in rent payable as at the 24th June 2008 review date.

Services Provided

• Consideration of existing lease contract and provisions for rent review
• Market research (analysis of City offices market and comparable market evidence at valuation date)
• Preparation of initial client report outlining McCalmont-Woods’ strategy for handling the review
• Property inspections (subject premises and market evidence);
• Negotiations and settlement of rent review

Outcome

McCalmont-Woods negotiated a minimal uplift of 1.5% on the rent passing. The settlement reached by negotiation between the parties (without the need for recourse to independent arbitration) represented a 83% saving for Cazenove on the uplift in rent proposed by its landlord.

Stewart Norwood, Director, Head of IT
“Nick McCalmont-Woods carried out a rent review on our behalf. Throughout, his advice was clear and valuable, resulting in a very positive outcome for the firm. He combines an expert view with a commercial approach, thus making sure all options are understood, strategy agreed, then effectively implemented.”