May 2014: Gilbert Evans has secured a significant rental saving of £35,000 pa for River Island on its 7,000 sq ft unit within the Lion Walk Shopping Centre in Colchester.
On instruction to undertake the preparation of an Expert Witness Report in connection with the lease renewal, Gilbert Evans contended that the current passing rental of £270,000 pa did not reflect the fact that rental values in the shopping centre had declined dramatically over the past five years when the current rental level was set.
As a consequence of detailed research and market knowledge, Gilbert Evans advised River Island to proceed to PACT where the rent was determined by an arbitrator, as opposed to a Judge had the matter gone to Court, at a rental of £235,000 pa. The result produced a rental which was both 12% lower than River Island were previously paying and £25,000 pa below the lowest rent that that the landlord was prepared to accept by negotiation.