A radical overhaul of accounting practices for property leases in the United States is likely to lead to dramatic changes in the way commercial property is leased in New Zealand.

These changes have their roots in the major upheavals in the United States corporate world when companies such as Enron and Andersons were found to have ‘cooked the books’.

The Global Financial Crisis compounded concerns about the financial reporting of property leases.

Currently, both in the US and NZ, leased property is (more…)

It is very easy to take things for granted and make assumptions in business.

Even successful and smart business leaders can make the wrong assumptions about basic costs. I think sometimes the mind can play tricks on us too, and we can browse a set of accounts or a written article and miss some details that we either think are irrelevant or that we don’t want to know about.

I sometimes speculate that there is a good deal of emotion attached to figures related to mortgages and rent. We often (more…)

As the year comes to a close, many businesses (and homeowners) think about what alterations and renovations they can make to premises over the summer break.

When commercial tenants are reassessing space needs for the coming year, it is an excellent time to look at adjusting premises to fit your staff profile. (more…)

As New Zealanders we pride ourselves on our DIY can-do attitude and it gets us a long way.

But for a while now, business commentators have been challenging this approach saying the downside, particularly on the world stage, can be that a DIY approach is detrimental.

Our top businesses have it mastered, and in (more…)

The reality for most businesses when they are setting terms for a commercial property lease is that there is a bit of hit & miss about planning.

Generally, property managers put together a guesstimate about a business’ needs regarding property over 3, 6 or 12 years, which are the sort of timeframes on offer for property leases.

Many make a bit of a real estate bet (more…)

It’s now just over two years until the Rugby World Cup is staged in New Zealand.

The biggest impact is likely to be in Auckland where there will be eight games including the semi finals and final at Eden Park. But stadia (more…)

With frosts on the ground it might seem a little early to be talking about spring.

But when it comes to the property lease market and looking out to the future, the market’s current sway in favour of tenants is an ideal time to  (more…)

Since time began, cities around the world have offered the allure of seeking and making your fortune. Great world cities such as London, New York, Hong Kong and Sydney still hold that promise for many. (more…)

I’ve been posting this blog for well over a year now, and I’d like to think we give readers a good heads-up on trends in the property lease market, as well as some insights into how the market works behind the scenes.

So it was interesting for me this week to take some of this expertise into the mainstream news media as a commentator on TVNZ’s business programme: NZI Business June 5: Renters’ market for office space

(more…)

To steal a line from the well-known telco ad, now is good for having a close look at reviewing commercial leases across New Zealand. There are a number of reasons why now is good.

Firstly, I think it’s time we moved on from a wait and see attitude about the markets and international economic conditions.

Secondly, there are very few new leases being drawn up at the moment. Many new building projects are on hold, and the majority of Parallel Direction’s work with tenants right now is getting better outcomes on renewals and rent reviews. (more…)

Subleasing or assigning space in commercial property is an area of great interest to commercial tenants right now.

More and more commercial tenants are finding they would like to sublease or assign space that has become surplus to their requirements. (more…)

The ratchet clause has long been a dirty word to businesses with commercial tenancies.

More than 95 percent of leases have a ratchet clause. Traditionally they never advantage the tenant. (more…)