Negotiating a lease is one of the hardest tasks facing any business seeking to acquire new commercial premises which is one of the reasons many turn to the advice of a profession property manager.

A wrong decision can have significant financial repercussions on the business which can be enough to threaten the business’s survival, especially in the current economic climate, and much care is needed from the outset to determine the implications of the lease.

Thankfully, small businesses will receive additional support in the New Year thanks to The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), which is set to launch a freely available lease which aims to support small high street retail businesses.

Many businesses take out a lease on commercial premises to find later down the line that the building no longer suits their requirements as they grow. According to property management companies, however, this needn’t always mean searching for new premises all over again.

Providing the current site offers reasonable flexibility and space for alterations, it is sometimes better for businesses to stay put and modify their existing building than to risk losing an ideal location favoured by customers and suppliers.

Planning permission is not always required if you would like to alter the inside of a commercial property or carry out minor changes to the outside. However, the details of your lease need to be checked as you may need to seek the consent of your landlord before embarking on any alterations.

In today’s world where 24-7 business is commonplace, the need for power back-up should be high on the agenda for many firms, according to electrical contractors.

Even with a comprehensive electrical maintenance programme and regular testing of your electrical installations in place, it’s impossible to eradicate the risk of power outages altogether as businesses are often affected by external factors. Construction work, the weather and load demands on distribution networks, for example, can all result in loss of electricity and impact on business productivity.

The consequences of such a power supply failure can be dire, from lost data and failure of security systems to an inability to trade or serve customers, all of which can result in lost income. For financial institutions and other 24-7 business services, this is not an option and a safety net must be sought.