Pacadar: A local Kent Success Story

Pacadar UK Ltd., based in Kent, is an international company leading in the pre-cast concrete sector for both civil engineering and building construction projects. Following a recommendation from the Universities Industrial Advisory Board, Twin Group has helped them recruit 12 International Masters students for manufacturing, production, logistics, quality control and health and safety roles.

Gema de la Guia, Pacadar’s People Specialist, says, “Our collaboration with Twin has been essential to share key positions within our business. And so far we have 100% success rate with this placement programme. The international students perform really well. They have a strong background from their University course”.

Gema highlighted their positive attitude, and willingness to create value. She explains, “A strong relationship with the university has allowed us access to local talent and increased our company’s visibility. Most importantly, it allows us to contribute to the educational system, society and the corporate world.”

Other Kent companies that regularly include Masters Placement students are Tag Construction Ltd, Kilnbridge, Wozair Ltd, Imperium Engineers, Synecore Pvt Ltd and Blu-3 (UK) Ltd.

In addition to supporting Masters level students, Twin has 30 years of experience in Skills and Training and supports employers to utilise Apprenticeships, Flexi Apprenticeships and a clearer understanding of the funding options available to support existing staff.

Through collaborations such as this, Twin is helping university students achieve better career outcomes and local businesses access a sustainable pipeline of talented, diverse and dedicated young people ready to add value to the UK companies. Find more information at https://twingroup.org/en/masters1plus1/

(Business Tenancies) (England and Wales) Order 2003, it is possible that the landlord will have granted a lease within sections 24-28 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (the Act). The effect of this is that come the end of the lease, unless the tenant agrees to leave, the landlord can only bring the lease to an end by serving a section 25 notice.

Section 25 Notice

DALDEEP JASWAL Partner

Commercial Property Department

djaswal@bussmurton.co.uk

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY LEASES AND SECURITY OF TENURE - PART II OF THE LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT 1954

These were the words spoken to me by a landlord client recently who had just been told by their tenant that they had a right to remain in the property at the expiry of their lease and the landlord could not ask them to leave. That wasn’t quite right but the tenant did have a point.

From time to time, I am approached by a landlord who has let a commercial property to a tenant and dealt with the lease themselves. This approach is usually made to me if the landlord is renewing or changing the terms of the lease or getting a property ready for sale. Unless a landlord is well versed in the ‘contracting out’ process required under The Regulatory Reform

When terminating a lease protected by the Act, the landlord must serve a section 25 notice on the tenant and provide a reason for not renewing the tenant’s lease. There is a list of those grounds for the landlord to choose from contained in section 30(1) of the Act. Those grounds include the tenant’s failure in keeping the property in the repair required by the lease, paying rent on time or other substantial breaches of tenant covenants in the lease. There is a further ground involving sub-letting of parts of a building where a landlord can show that the rent that can be achieved from sub-divided parts of a building are substantially less than the rent that could be achieved from a letting of the whole of a building, but it is the least used ground because seldom are the necessary requirements fulfilled. These grounds are referred to as “discretionary grounds” meaning that the Court has a discretion as to whether to order a new lease of the property even if a particular ground is evidenced by a landlord.

The list of mandatory grounds, i.e. where the Court must order possession for the landlord, is a little shorter, but includes the landlord offering the tenant suitable alternative premises on reasonable terms (having regard to the current tenancy), the landlord wanting to occupy the premises for their own use (which is subject to a requirement that the landlord has owned the reversion of the lease for at least 5 years before the end of the tenancy (i.e. the date stated in the section 25 notice)), or the most commonly used ground which is that the landlord intends to redevelop the premises. In each of these mandatory or ‘no fault’ grounds, the tenant might be entitled to statutory compensation based on the rateable value of the property.

Unless the landlord can demonstrate one of the discretionary or mandatory grounds as a reason for not granting the tenant a new lease, it will have no right to bring the tenant’s lease to an end and the tenant will be entitled to request a renewal tenancy from the landlord.

Lease Renewal

Where a landlord is happy to renew the tenant’s lease, it again must serve a section 25 notice to bring the current lease to an end with the offer of new lease terms on which it will grant a new lease. The minimum notice period is six months (the maximum is 12 months) with a requirement that the date on which the current tenancy is to expire cannot be specified as earlier than the end of the current tenancy. For example, if the existing lease ends on 25 December 2025, the landlord cannot specify in its notice that the lease ends earlier than that date. Where the parties cannot agree terms, the Court can decide these but there are various factors to be considered: market rents and the terms of the current lease. Where a tenant wishes to initiate renewal, a similar process is followed by serving a notice of renewal terms on the landlord under section 26 of the Act. There is nothing stopping the parties agreeing terms informally and completing a lease renewal. This is what tends to happen in many cases.

The above scenarios apply to leases which are granted when the parties specifically agree that the Act is to apply. A tenant might want to ensure it retains the right to renew its lease as its business model might rely heavily on the property and its location. However, the Act will also apply where landlords have inadvertently granted a lease and not followed the contracting out procedure either correctly or not considered the ramifications. This will have the effect of providing the tenant with security of tenure and the above procedure will apply when ending the lease.

Contracting Out

If a landlord follows the contracting out procedure correctly and grants a lease to a tenant so that it is granted outside the ambit of sections 24-28 of the Act, then the landlord is free, come the end of the term, to ask the tenant to leave or offer a new lease to its tenant on terms that it can dictate. The point being that the landlord is not beholden to its tenant to have to grant a renewal lease. When a contracted-out lease has expired, landlords need to be careful not to inadvertently provide the tenant with security of tenure by allowing the lease to continue and doing nothing other than continuing to take rent as this can have the effect of providing the tenant with what is called a ‘Periodic Tenancy’ which will have protection under the Act.

There is a consultation being conducted by the Law Commission as to whether the contracting out model of security of tenure under the Act remains the right approach however the importance of parties ensuring that they seek legal advice not only in relation to the grant of a new lease but also when it is due to expire cannot be emphasised strongly enough.

If you are in need of legal advice on any of the above, contact: info@bussmurton.co.uk or call 01892 510 222.

Unique amongst private healthcare providers, we are a Private Limited Company and a fully owned subsidiary of East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, with sites in:

• Ashford (William Harvey Hospital)

• Canterbury (Kent & Canterbury Hospital)

• Margate (Queen Elizabeth Queen Mother Hospital)

Spencer Private Hospitals are pleased to announce the launch of their new Private GP Services at their Ashford and Margate branches.

Take Charge of Your Health with Dr Alexandra Mansell’s GP Services at Spencer Private Hospitals in Ashford.

Dr Mansell offers a personalised and holistic GP service, combining her unique dual training as a nurse and doctor to provide comprehensive, patient-centered care and ensures you are treated as an individual.

As a busy working mother herself, Dr Mansell understands the pressures of balancing family, work and health and is committed to offering care tailored to your needs. Her clinics also streamline paediatric referrals, ensuring that children receive prompt and specialised care when needed.

Dr Mansell’s offers bespoke health assessments which are designed to take a preventative and proactive approach to your well-being. For businesses, these assessments help keep your workforce healthy by identifying potential health issues early, reducing time off work and ensuring a productive team.

For individuals and businesses alike, Dr Mansell offers a trusted, holistic approach to health that you can rely on. Book your appointment or enquire about tailored health assessments today via her website and prioritise health that fits into your busy life. www.drmansellgp.com

Dr Amilia Alifrangis works from Spencer Private Hospitals, Margate.

Dr Alifrangis is an experienced GP with an interest in Women’s’ health and sport and exercise medicine. She trained and qualified at University College London in 2011, and since then has worked in NHS clinics, urgent care centres across London and Kent.

Dr Alifrangis has previously worked for Bupa Health Clinics for seven years, carrying out health screening, GP appointments, menopause consultations and medical leadership roles. She is also a Senior Lecturer in Medical Education at Kent and Medway Medical school, and a GP appraiser.

Through these roles, Dr Alifrangis has gained considerable experience of caring for patients from all backgrounds, and offers a whole person, preventative care approach in her consultations.

Advice and treatment is tailored to your needs and follow up support can be provided to help achieve specific health goals. She brings these skills and experience to her clinics and offers face to face appointments, Menopause / perimenopause consultations and health assessments.

Clinics are offered weekly, and can be booked directly through Spencer Private Hospitals website or by visiting www.thebaygp.com