- 5/5 Stars rating on Google
Tenant-side · Commercial lease negotiation · New Zealand
Most of the deal is decided before the lease reaches your desk. We make sure it's decided in your favour.
We negotiate commercial leases for tenants every week: rent, incentives, review structure, guarantees and exit rights. You get terms that protect your business and a rent that reflects the real market rather than the landlord's opening number.
Typical Savings Per Negotiation
Negotiating Commercial Leases For Tenants
Never Landlords, Never Agents Who Also Act For Landlords
THE PROBLEM
By the time you see the document, the agent has already set the rent, the review structure and the terms that suit their client. It looks standard. It rarely is.
Every clause you don't question is one that was written to favour the other side of the table.
THE COST OF GETTING IT WRONG
Settle 8% above market on a $180,000 rent and that's $14,400 a year. Over a six-year term, $86,400 is gone, before you count the reviews stacked on top. The money leaves quietly. It never shows up as one bad decision, so nobody flags it.
The terms work the same way. A guarantee you didn't cap. A review you didn't fix. A renewal right you didn't secure. Each one sits in the lease for years, waiting.
"We were a small organisation negotiating with a large and sophisticated corporate. Marcus helped us navigate through numerous complex issues , within a tight timeframe."
YOUR GUIDE
You negotiate a lease a handful of times in your career. You've got a business to run, and the lease is one more thing on a long list. That's normal. It's also exactly why the gap exists, and why the landlord's agent counts on it.
I've run hundreds of commercial lease negotiations for tenants. I know how agents price, where they pad, and what they concede when the tenant has someone who does this for a living. I act for tenants only. Never landlords.
20 years tenant-side
Tenant-side only
Hundreds run for tenants
$20k–$100k+ saved per deal
OUR APPROACH
A clear process for every negotiation, whether it's a new lease, a renewal or a rent review.
I read the lease or the deal on offer, benchmark the rent against real market evidence, and find where the cost and the risk sit.
I set the targets across rent, incentives, review structure, guarantees, term and exit. You know exactly what we're pushing for and why.
I run the negotiation with the landlord and their agent. You stay focused on the business and sign a lease that's been fought for.
What We Weigh on Every Site
A lease has far more moving parts than the headline rent. Each one is a number you either win or leave behind. We work them all.
Settle the starting rent against real market evidence, and fix a review structure that won't quietly compound against you.
Rent-free periods, fitout contributions and cash incentives the landlord rarely offers unless someone asks for them.
Lease length and rights of renewal that protect your tenure and keep your options open to grow or move.
Personal and bank guarantees scoped and capped, so your exposure matches the deal and goes no further.
Make-good obligations and break rights set early, so the exit is costed before you sign rather than after.
Outgoings defined, capped where possible, and open to audit, so the bill you pay matches the space you use.
You sign at a rent backed by real market evidence
Your guarantees, reviews and exit terms are scoped to protect you
Property stays off your plate while the deal gets done
WHAT GOOD LOOKS LIKE
Numbers, not adjectives. Three real negotiations and what they delivered to the tenant's bottom line.
A bigger office with more parking, a capped personal guarantee and real exit flexibility, on a lease that beat the firm’s existing landlord’s renewal offer.
Lower entry costs, rent-free and fit-out-free startup periods, and personal guarantees cut or removed, so every franchisee opened on solid footing.
A bigger landlord fit-out contribution, an exclusivity clause, limited personal liability and relocation risk removed, all inside two months.
Who This Is For
We negotiate for franchise, retail, hospitality and service provider businesses, from single sites to multi-site networks. If property isn't your core expertise but it's one of your biggest costs, you're exactly who we work for.
The best time to bring us in is before anything is signed, while there's still room to move. The next best time is now. A rent review window, a looming renewal, a lease that no longer fits: each one is a negotiation, and each one is worth getting right.
Common questions
As early as you can, before you've committed to anything. The more room there is to move, the stronger our position. That said, ahead of a renewal or a rent review is also a strong moment, because the deadline itself works in your favour if you plan for it.
No. Until you've signed, everything is still open. A lease you've received is often the best starting point we can have, because it shows us exactly what the landlord wants and where the soft spots are.
Both. A renewal or a rent review is a negotiation like any other, and it's where a lot of tenants quietly overpay because they treat it as a formality. It isn't one.
Your lawyer handles the legal wording and makes sure the document is sound. We handle the commercial deal: the rent, the incentives and the terms. The two roles sit side by side, and you want both.
It depends on the scope, from a one-off negotiation to ongoing support across a portfolio. We'll be clear about it on the first call, before you commit to anything.
Free Download
Fill in the Lease Offer Builder before you talk to any agent. Ten lease terms, your written position on each, and a one-page offer to take into the room. About 30 minutes.
contact us
Tell me what your business needs from its next premises. I'll tell you what's out there, on-market and off, and what each option will really cost you. No obligation.
