Business Legal Services
Commercial Lease Solicitors
Practical, commercial legal advice on negotiating, renewing and exiting commercial leases.
We support scaling SMEs and portfolio landlords to protect income, manage risk and keep property aligned with strategy.
Finding the right legal partner
Why work with Harper James
Choose a legal partner you can trust: we’ll help protect your goals, your business and your people so you can move forward with confidence and focus on growing your business.
Affordable, transparent and predictable pricing
Clear itemised invoices, subscription plans with up to 50% discount, and fixed fee products help you plan and manage legal spend – with no nasty surprises.
Proven track record and measurable results
We’ve supported over 7,000 businesses since 2014, with an ‘Excellent’ rating on Trustpilot and a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 60+ from monthly client surveys.
Straight-talking, responsive advice
That means fast response times, practical expert legal advice delivered in plain English, and dedicated client service and account management support.
Risk and compliance assured
We’re an SRA regulated firm, but more importantly, we build quality, data, and compliance best practice into everything we do.
Commercial lease advice
What can we help landlords and tenants with?
Commercial leases can shape your cashflow, flexibility and risk exposure for years. Here are the situations we most commonly help landlords and tenants navigate.
When you need to secure new premises to support expansion, and want lease terms that won’t restrict growth or future funding.
When you’re a landlord granting a new lease and need to protect rental income while keeping the deal commercially attractive.
When you’re renewing and need clarity on security of tenure, rent and updated terms.
When you want to assign, underlet or exit a lease early, and need to manage landlord consent, guarantees and ongoing liability.
When you’re facing a break option, rent review or dilapidations claim and need a strategy that protects your position.
When you’re restructuring, acquiring or selling a business and need property interests aligned with the wider transaction.
Whether you’re reviewing draft terms or facing a deadline, we keep the process straightforward.
- Tell us about your lease
Share the heads of terms, draft lease or a summary of what you’re trying to achieve. Let us know your commercial priorities and any deadlines. - We review and outline your options
We’ll highlight key risks, commercial points and areas for negotiation in clear, plain English – so you can see where you stand and what to do next. - We negotiate and complete
We handle discussions with the other side, keep you updated, and work towards agreed terms that support your wider business objectives.
Why choose our commercial lease solicitors?
Meet our team
Our commercial property solicitors advise scaling SMEs, investors and portfolio landlords across sectors including tech, healthcare, manufacturing and professional services. We act for both landlords and tenants, so we understand how the other side approaches negotiations – and how to protect your position without derailing the deal.
Understanding commercial leases
Common questions
Here are some of the common questions we hear around commercial leases. If you are unsure how these issues apply to your situation, our commercial lease solicitors are on-hand to help you understand your options.
1. What parts of a commercial lease usually create the biggest long-term risk for tenants?
Often it’s repairing obligations and dilapidation exposure, service charge, rent review mechanics, and restrictions on assignment/subletting or alterations. The ‘headline rent’ rarely tells the full cost story – a review helps you understand the real risk and spend profile.
2. What’s the difference between heads of terms and the lease itself?
Heads of terms set out the key commercial points (rent, term, breaks, repairs, incentives) before lawyers draft documents. If heads of terms are unclear or unbalanced, it can cause delays – and the final lease may reflect assumptions that don’t work for you.
3. Can we negotiate flexibility if our business might outgrow the space?
In many cases, yes – but it needs to be written into the lease. Options can include break clauses, assignment/subletting provisions, sharing occupation within a group, or carefully defined alteration rights. What’s achievable depends on the property, market leverage and landlord position.
4. What’s involved in renewing or exiting an existing lease?
Routes can include renewal (sometimes under statutory processes), re-gearing, a deed of variation, assignment, subletting, or agreeing a surrender. Each has different risk and cost implications, so it’s worth getting advice early – especially if you’re trying to align property commitments with a wider business change.
5. Do you act for landlords as well as tenants?
Yes. We support landlords with drafting, negotiation, portfolio management, consents, and lease lifecycle changes – and tenants with review, negotiation, renewals and exit strategies. We’ll always confirm any conflicts and scope before starting work.
Testimonials
What our clients say
Our clients value clear, commercially grounded advice that helps them move quickly and with confidence.
Having Rachel’s help has been invaluable. I’ve previously negotiated the property terms myself, but due to the complexities that came with leasing this property, I didn’t know where to start. Rachel went through the agreement with a fine-tooth comb and picked up on crucial aspects that I wouldn’t have noticed. There’s so much to think about while moving premises while still fulfilling orders and Rachel was great at putting my mind at ease throughout the process.
Ruby Sheldon
CEO,
Slime Party UK
Alex Curtis is a super star. He helped us out at short notice on a lease renewal where the landlord had redrafted the terms of the lease in their own favour. Not only did he provide excellent counsel but he supported us in negotiating the terms back in our favour - which we successfully did. Thanks Alex.
Mic Miller
CEO,
Easyfundraising
Sam really understood that the lease was a big commitment from us and she was patient in her approach. Sam was always looking to make sure we were protected from any clauses that were not in our favour. We are very grateful to Sam for her help as we could not have done it without her.
Chris Woods
Operations Manager,
Playtonic Games
Reliable but straightforward legal advice and support. Delivered at a very cost effective price point.
Matthew Dreaper
Director,
Keit Spectrometers
10/10, very happy with the service and the relationship … comments from Sam are presented in a way that is easy to understand – rather than being blinded by legal jargon! Very approachable, pragmatic and efficient, especially as we had to do substantial chasing on the recent legal engagement
Karen Page
Office Manager,
DenseAir
Extremely helpful, very communicative and got the job done promptly. We were under time pressure, and on a tight budget - HJ dealt with both perfectly.
Andrew Slater
MD,
Kin Partners Ltd
The new format of the Summary Report that is provided with a property lease is commendable - this is the type of document that non-legal people can read and quickly understand the important points about the property.
Matthew Dreaper
CFO,
Oxford Space Systems
Having Rachel’s help has been invaluable. I’ve previously negotiated the property terms myself, but due to the complexities that came with leasing this property, I didn’t know where to start. Rachel went through the agreement with a fine-tooth comb and picked up on crucial aspects that I wouldn’t have noticed. There’s so much to think about while moving premises while still fulfilling orders and Rachel was great at putting my mind at ease throughout the process.
Ruby Sheldon
CEO,
Slime Party UK
Alex Curtis is a super star. He helped us out at short notice on a lease renewal where the landlord had redrafted the terms of the lease in their own favour. Not only did he provide excellent counsel but he supported us in negotiating the terms back in our favour - which we successfully did. Thanks Alex.
Mic Miller
CEO,
Easyfundraising
Sam really understood that the lease was a big commitment from us and she was patient in her approach. Sam was always looking to make sure we were protected from any clauses that were not in our favour. We are very grateful to Sam for her help as we could not have done it without her.
Chris Woods
Operations Manager,
Playtonic Games
Reliable but straightforward legal advice and support. Delivered at a very cost effective price point.
Matthew Dreaper
Director,
Keit Spectrometers
10/10, very happy with the service and the relationship … comments from Sam are presented in a way that is easy to understand – rather than being blinded by legal jargon! Very approachable, pragmatic and efficient, especially as we had to do substantial chasing on the recent legal engagement
Karen Page
Office Manager,
DenseAir
Extremely helpful, very communicative and got the job done promptly. We were under time pressure, and on a tight budget - HJ dealt with both perfectly.
Andrew Slater
MD,
Kin Partners Ltd
The new format of the Summary Report that is provided with a property lease is commendable - this is the type of document that non-legal people can read and quickly understand the important points about the property.
Matthew Dreaper
CFO,
Oxford Space Systems
