Buying or selling commercial property can be a complex process due to building codes, lease agreements, and many other legal factors. Having expert legal guidance from a commercial property solicitor is fundamental to navigating the rules and regulations.
At Crombie Wilkinson, our teams in York, Selby, Malton and Pickering have years of experience in helping people and businesses to buy and sell commercial property of all kinds.
Buying commercial property involves legal assessments such as zoning laws, safety regulations, lease agreements and tenant rights. You also need to consider the implications of property taxes, purchase agreements, and sales contracts.
Ensuring all legal stipulations are met when buying retail and business property is important to avoid disputes in the future.
Read our commercial property overview for general guidance and additional information.
Commercial property buyers see a great many benefits, including:
When a limited company buys a commercial property, they become the legal owner. If you buy your commercial property through a limited company, you can expect:
Buying a freehold commercial property means you own it until you sell it. Buying a leasehold commercial property means you essentially lease it for an agreed upon number of years subject to extensions. Newly-made leases can be anywhere from 125 years to 999 years.
Freeholds benefit from the fact you are the outright owner and are free to do with it as you wish. A leasehold owner has to work within the term of the leasehold contract, which could limit who you can sell to and what work you can carry out.
The benefits of a leasehold purchase include:
Discover ways to finance a commercial property purchase here.
You will need to check which property taxes apply to your commercial property investment. These could include, but are not limited to, the following:
Selling a commercial property isn’t as straight forward as selling a residential home, as your income from the property needs to be considered.
When selling commercial property, Capital Gains Tax is (CGT) will be payable based on the profit made from the sale.
Rates vary between individuals and corporations - the former resting between 10% and 20%, and the latter around 19%.
If the property is subject to VAT, this could also affect the final sale price and potential tax obligations.
If you have existing tenants, you will need to carefully review commercial tenant rights to ensure that they are preserved, and that all lease terms are diligently documented, transparent and transitioned properly. You will also need to hand the lease over to the new owner.
Learn more about tenant rights here
We are a driven, expert team of commercial property legal advisors, and can apply our expertise to any aspect of buying or selling commercial property in the UK.
Whether your process is simple or complex, we will tailor our knowledge to your buying endeavours in a timely and professional manner.
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We have come across other legal teams and seen how their services have worked and we would highly recommend Crombie Wilkinson as they are competent and approachable in their services.
Everything was explained clearly and as a first time buyer I found this particularly helpful.
Have huge confidence in Crombies, always listen, always act.
Having had previous property related work completed in a prompt and satisfactory manner we were more than happy to approach your company for further work on our behalf.
Your firm did an excellent job meeting my expectations at a sensible cost.
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Our solicitor, secretary and the reception staff all excellent service.
Quick and easy, I have already recommended a friend, they are also using you to buy a house.
Your patience and support has been much appreciated. You helped me through a very difficult, frustrating time but I am already settled in my new home and the children all feel happy there, in fact they have hardly left!!
Everyone was so friendly, we were soon put at ease.
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I was very pleased with Crombie Wilkinson. I will in future always go back with any problems I may have.
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