Commercial Property Investments

We’ve rounded together some of the best tips to help ensure that you invest in a commercial property that’s right for you.

1. Know the purpose of the property

We’ve described the types of property, but you also need to know what sub-types of businesses that it might attract. Industrial is limited to warehouses and factories, which may only attract larger companies, whereas leisure might attract restaurant owners or pubs.

2. Know your budget & ROI goals

Set your budget and stick to it, always be sure to include your hidden costs list repairs, stamp duty, operation and maintenance fees etc. You also need to understand the return you expect, you should really look for a minimum 10% cash return.

3. We can’t stress location enough!

We’ve touched on this, but commercial property location is so important! You need to think about the type of business the property might attract and what they might need such as central locations, shops, etc.

4. Research the nearby commercial market

We’ll always try and guide you in the right direction, providing you with all the information, however we always stress that you should do your own research on the area and the local market. Dig into available mortgages, rental values, recent commercial property sales in the area, and even labourer rates to get a much better idea of the quality of the investment.

5. Consider Stamp Duty

Stamp duty is slightly different to a residential property and is generally a lower rate. For the first £150,000 you have a 0% rate, but when you get up to £150,001 to £250,000 this jumps to 2%, and there’s a jump to 5% for properties over £250,000.

6. Is the property flexible enough to attract different types of businesses

If you’re looking into commercial property, we’ve talked about the different types you have available to you, however it’s always advised that you pick a property that could potentially attract multiple businesses, like an office for instance. If a property is built for a specific purpose or business type, it might be harder to attract tenants.

7. Yield vs risk

Is it worth it? It’s not risk free, and this completely depends on how much you are willing to risk for what return, but you should always try and maximise your yield, of course.

8. Consult some professionals

There’s a lot to consider when your investing in commercial property, so it might be wise to speak to a few real estate experts to try and understand the whole process and the risks involved before jumping in.

9. Capital Allowance, BPRA & Land Remediation Relief

There are certain reliefs and allowances for commercial property:

• Capital Allowance: Under the Capital Allowances Act this is the amount of expenditure a business can claim against taxable profits.
• BPRA (Business Premises Renovation Allowance): An 100% tax allowance for certain spending to renovate business premises is sometimes available.
• Land Remediation Relief: An 100% reduction and further 50% for qualifying expenditure incurred by companies in cleaning up land which has been acquired in a contaminated state.

10. Get a structural survey

Commercial properties are often large, and the bills for repairs can be quite expensive, depending what you buy of course. Keeping that in mind, we would always recommend getting a full structural survey to pick up any issues before purchasing.