April 2015: Gilbert Evans has secured a significant rental saving of £56,500 pa for River Island on its 7,000 sq ft unit within the High Street, Kings Lynn’s prime retailing area. This result follows on from Gilbert Evans’ recent successful negotiations on behalf of River Island on its unit in Colchester, Essex.
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 £130,000 pa did not reflect the fact that rental values in the town had declined dramatically over the past five years when the current rental level was set.
Gilbert Evans advised River Island to proceed to PACT where, after an arbitrator was appointed, a negotiated settlement was reached at a rental of £73,500 pa. The result produced a rental which was £56,500 pa or 43.5% lower than that which River Island was previously paying.