04
Sale-and-leaseback
Your capital is locked up in bricks while you need it for fleet, people or an acquisition. In a sale-and-leaseback you sell the property to an investor and remain in occupation as the tenant — on terms you help set.
In short
Sell the building, stay in it. We arrange the investor and the lease alike.
Discuss it with us
From practice
“The money was in the bricks. It needed to be in the fleet.”Owner following a sale-and-leaseback
10–15 yearsusual lease term
Stay putsame site, different owner
Lighter balance sheetmore attractive to a successor or buyer
When does this arise?
Do you recognise any of these situations?
- You want to invest in fleet or an acquisition but the bank will not stretch further.
- The buyer of your business does not want to take on the property.
- You no longer want your pension concentrated in a single building.
- You are preparing a succession and want to lighten the balance sheet.
What we do
STEP 01
The sums first
Proceeds, rental cost and tax consequences over ten years. Without that picture you should not start.
STEP 02
The lease first
Term, indexation, option periods and repairing obligations. This contract sets the price you achieve.
STEP 03
Approaching investors
Targeted, from our network, with a proposition that shows the quality of your business.
STEP 04
Completion
Negotiation, buy-side due diligence and transfer — while you carry on trading as usual.
What it gives you
Capital available
The money in the bricks is released for where it earns a return: your business.
Stay on your site
Your people, docks and routes do not change. Only the owner at the land registry.
A lighter balance sheet
More attractive to a buyer or successor, and clearer for you.
Frequently asked questions
Sale-and-leaseback — answered briefly
What exactly is a sale-and-leaseback?
You sell your premises to an investor and immediately lease them back from that same party. Your operations do not change: the same site, the same docks, the same people. What changes is that the capital is released from the bricks and a rental cost takes its place.
How long do I have to commit as a tenant?
Investors typically look for a lease term of ten to fifteen years, often with option periods. The longer and stronger the contract, the higher the price you achieve for the property. That is why we settle the lease before we go to market.
What are the tax consequences?
Tax may fall due on the book profit, and where the property is held privately or in a separate company, personal income tax and transfer tax questions arise. We model this with your accountant in advance, so the net proceeds are known before you decide.
Often combined with