Welcome to the latest edition of E:gen, Winckworth Sherwood’s Regeneration and Development Newsletter. In this edition we look at Rent Setting, ESG strategies, Joint Ventures, Property Guardians and much more.
If you have any questions, please get in touch with the authors who are happy to discuss these topics further.
Property Guardians and the case of Global 100 Ltd v Jimenez & Ors
Although there is no statutory or official definition of a property guardian, it is widely used to mean a private individual who occupies otherwise vacant premises (residential or commercial) usually with a view to offering protection against squatting or vandalism. Occupiers usually pay a lower sum to occupy than on the “open market”. Protection against squatters is particularly important in commercial premises where, unlike residential premises, squatting is not considered a criminal offence.
Rent Setting: A Tough Decision for RPs
As CPI reaches a 40-year high, RPs will soon face a tough decision: do they increase rents in line with the rent settlement, thereby putting more financial squeeze on tenants, or do they resist imposing such a rent increase, resulting in additional cost pressures for their own business?
ESG Strategies
As a result of increased investor appetite for ESG friendly investment (sustainable finance), banks and other funders are increasingly considering ESG strategies and criteria when providing funding.
When funders provide sustainable finance they want to know how and where their monies will be spent, whether they will provide environmental or social benefits, or otherwise have a beneficial impact by reference to ESG criteria. Investors are increasingly interested in being able to see that progress to measurable goals is being achieved and often regulation is obliging them to do so.
Understanding Joint Ventures between Registered Providers and developers
Joint ventures (JVs) between Registered Providers (RPs) and developers are nothing new. Indeed, there can be natural synergies, and the Regulator’s approach seems to be relatively positive. In its October 2021 risk profile, it noted that JVs “can represent effective ways for providers to deliver key services and… value for money”, whilst also noting that entering into contracts with third parties, such as JVs, exposes RPs to counterparty risks and can reduce control over the quality of delivered services.
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