What’s wrong with Erdis?
Is he a hipster barber? For hair hipsters are the best.
He’s had a couple of hip replacements, does that count?
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Who do you reckon will take the big hardware shop next to the Capitol?
Is it closing?
Good question Michael.
Looking at the particulars - particularly the premium (GULP!) - I’d say the answer would be something like, “Not any time soon”.
Full description
Ranson UK are proud to present this well established ground floor commercial property located in a very busy location with a high foot fall. This unit currently has 3 years remaining on its lease and a rent review is also carried out every 5 years.This large A1 unit is situated in a great location, occupying a prominent position on London Road just moments away from Forest Hill Station and next to well established high street brands.Forest Hill offers an exclusive and vibrant community with a range of unique shops, bars and restaurants such as Pizza Hit, Santander bank, and William Hill. Transport links are easily accessible from Forest Hill Station providing access to the London overground.
AccommodationTotal accommodation size: 1279 Approx Sq Ft
Lease Term/CommencementOur client wishes to assign the renewable lease which has 3 years remaining.
Rent£45,480 per Annum
Premium£ 400,000
VATThis property is elected for VAT
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Sorry, I know you and/or @Pauline have answered this before - but is that £400,000 “premium” an up-front fee for getting the keys??? On top of £45+k pa???
I’m completely baffled by some of the premiums being asked for lately, not least this one!
So now asking for premiums are:
This & at £400k for a three year lease just sounds unheard of!
Zara’s Tea place asking for £40k when it never even got up and running again baffles me!
The Montage at £25k
ill Mirto is up with a premium, but I don’t know how much for.
The Teapot has been up for let for a while too, but don’t know if there is a premium or not as I’ve not had time to dig around.
Yes Andy 
Out-flipping-rageous!!!
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Totally!!!
@anon64893700 this one is not a corner shop but “Home Accessories” is, so you might want to contact them if you want a “Nando’s”.
Personally I wouldn’t use it but others might do!
Richard @NewForester what’s your thoughts on this, I remember we had a chat a while back when we dug out the land registry for The Capitol when it was said it was going to be a cinema which never emerged 2/3 years ago.
If I remember rightly we also spoke about premiums & what/who could justify these & if I’m right in thinking I don’t think any of what I mentioned previously could merit this, except maybe The Capitol depending…
Accounts would have to be shown (over a long period) to merit asking for a premium and a certain profit return which wouldn’t justify the rest I mentioned I don’t think.
Hope I’m wrong though & all get snapped up!
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Very sad to say that Monday 19th December is the last day The Montage will be trading 
I just don’t this premium thing. What is it based on - surely it makes no odds how profitable the Home accessories shop is if you are going to open a Nandos (Heaven forbid - can’t stand the places) or a Waitrose…
I can’t see the point of driving out small businesses on the off chance of getting someone else who will pay more. The Montage makes great use of a difficult space. What big name trader is going to take that on? However, I have often wondered if the limited food offer in the Montage was ever going to be enough to cover the costs of what is quite a big space.
My big worry is with quite a few owners seemingly asking big premiums are we going to see a lot of empty shops again.
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A fairly concise explanation of lease premiums:
Outside of the realms of tax, the lease premium is a device for changing the profile of the cashflow from a lease. If an investment company needs to invest in a new property, or refurbishing an existing property, it may decide to charge a lease premium in order to get an up front lump sum return on its investment. This would often be reflected in a lower passing rent under the lease than an open market rent for the property.
If an existing lease is assigned to a new tenant, then a premium may be charged by the old tenant to the new tenant. This would reflect some special value that the lease or property had, e.g. a low rent, or specialised fittings.
There can also be a reverse premium, where the tenant receives a lump sum. This might be an inducement to pay a higher rent, or to fund works in the property.
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Just to be clear - It’s the existing tenants that are asking for premiums and not the landlords.
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