TrueValue M&A Network
Property specialists
Many businesses come with premises — freeholds, long leases, or short leases with break clauses that matter to the buyer. Property specialists value the property, review the title and the lease, and handle the transfer or the assignment.
Property specialists
Verified and featured professionals are listed first. Refine by location, sector or deal size.
What property specialists do
A surveyor values freehold property and advises on condition, dilapidations liabilities and environmental risk; a property lawyer investigates title, reviews leases for change-of-control and assignment provisions, negotiates landlord consents and handles the transfer or new lease. Where the property is held outside the trading company — commonly in a pension or by the owner personally — they structure its sale or lease-back alongside the business.
When to engage them
During due diligence, and early if the property is a large part of the value or if landlord consent to a change of control is needed — landlords are not on the deal’s timetable.
Usually active at
- In due diligence
- Legal documents and completion
What they typically help with
- Valuation of freehold and leasehold property
- Title investigation and lease review
- Landlord consents and assignments
- Dilapidations, condition and environmental risk
- Sale and lease-back where the property is held separately
Questions to ask before you engage
- 1. Have you worked on property as part of a business acquisition, with the deal’s timetable and lawyers?
- 2. What will landlord consent require, and how long will it take?
- 3. What is the dilapidations exposure, and how should it be reflected in the price?
- 4. Is the fee fixed for the review, and what would extend it?
- 5. Are you a RICS-registered valuer, if a valuation is needed for the lender?
How property specialists are paid
Surveyors charge a fee for a valuation or a condition survey, scaled to the property; property lawyers charge on time or a fixed fee for the review and the transfer. A lender will usually require a valuation from a panel valuer at the borrower’s cost.
How TrueValue fits alongside
TrueValue’s funding plan caps property finance at the loan-to-value the filed balance sheet supports and reports it as its own line, and the deal’s data room holds the title, the leases and the survey where the lawyers and the lender can read them.
Frequently asked
Should I buy the property with the business?
- It depends on the price, the funding and the owner’s plans. Many buyers prefer to lease the premises back from the seller on completion, which keeps capital in the business and gives the seller an income; others want the freehold as security for the lender.
What is a change-of-control clause in a lease?
- A provision that treats a change in the tenant company’s ownership as an assignment, requiring the landlord’s consent. Missing one can put the lease at risk on completion.
What are dilapidations?
- The tenant’s liability to return leased premises in the condition the lease requires at the end of the term. On an acquisition it is an inherited liability that should be assessed and priced.
Listings in the TrueValue M&A Network are provided for information. A listing is not an endorsement or a recommendation, and TrueValue does not guarantee any professional’s performance. You must carry out your own due diligence before engaging anyone, verify regulated status independently with the relevant regulator, and seek qualified legal, financial and tax advice where appropriate.