The majority of retail business premises in the UK are held on a 21-year lease or less at a commercial rent which is reviewed, usually upwards, every three or five years. In essence a leaseholder is a tenant renting a premise in order to carry on a trade such as a chemist, Indian restaurant, wine bar, supermarket, etc.

Now try to secure a loan on a successful hotel, restaurant or pub, which is not freehold, but held on say a 15 year lease at a current rent of £30,000 per annum. You will soon hit the buffers. This is landmine territory for most lenders and they keep out...unless they are prepared to risk losing money purely as a loss-leader in order to increase their market profile. We can help, if you own a leasehold business or want to buy a leasehold business talk to us.