This guide to choosing commercial property is generally aimed at the newcomer to the market place. Whilst it is our business to act for the landlord, if the tenant is unable to pay their rent because of poor decisions when choosing a premises it is not in anyone's interests, for this reason we would like to do what we can to ensure you choose the right premises for you.

Larger businesses will employ their own agents to seek out and negotiate terms on prospective properties but we appreciate that this is not always feasible for the smaller business. All tenants should seek legal advice before entering into any agreement, but often legal advice will overlook some of the more basic requirements of a business in it’s search for premises.

We aim to look at some of these more basic issues in this guide, so that you ultimately make the best informed decision you can, but you should not rely entirely on this guide and you should seek professional advice on any matter when you are in any doubt.

The decisions you make when choosing a premises for your business should not be made lightly. Take time to consider all the information available to you. Get help where you can and don't sign anything until you are sure of the consequences.

Although a major consideration to any business is the limitations placed on it by costs, it shouldn’t be the only issue you consider, other issues may have varying importance to different businesses and you should decide on the relevance of every issue to your own business. Some issues that you need to consider are discussed here.

As you consider the various issues this guide discusses, be aware not only of present requirements but of your expected needs for the future, relocation costs are usually high.

In addition to the information we have provided on our help pages, you can also download help and information from other sources from our Forms Page. The following topics are covered.

Costs.  Various costs including ingoing and ongoing costs of a tenancy.

Usage.  All about permissions you need before you can use a property.

Location.  Things you might want to consider when choosing the location.

Size.  Measuring conventions and other considerations of size.

Facilities.  Some Features you may or may not require.

Legislation.  Examples of how legislation might affect your choices.