(2026 July: LinkedIn) In Hoxton Market, London N1 6HG, whose neighbouring streets were/are multi-storey warehouses and workshops, is a three-storey building whose ground floor and basement were let to a carpet warehouse. A market had existed since c17, but disbanded before I became involved with the property. I first got to know about it when the landlord contacted me for advice. I do not know how the building came to be owned by the client, but in those days Hoxton Market was a scruffy place that had seen better days.
In common with other run-down areas of London that would one day becme trendy, when I did the probate valuation, the District Valuer (HMRC) disagreed with my opinion. The DV was convinced I had undervalued the potential. In discussion with the DV, we agreed that Hoxton Market had potential, but when would it materialise? We compromised, I managed to reduce the DV figure a little, making extra tax payable slighly more bearable.
When the carpet warehouse lease expired, the tenant not renewing, time to find a new tenant. Two offers: one from a small cafe in the area, the other from a young keen Greek – later known as the chef who taught the English to taste authentic Greek flavours, apart from moussaka and taramosalata.
On paper the cafe was the obvious choice, but something about Theodore Kyriakou’s offer I recommended giving a chance. I do not have my old file to hand to check whether he had another restaurant or if this ground floor and basement were to become the first of several “The Real Greek” restaurants, but him being guarantor to his company, paying a rent deposit, and financially-savvy backers for his venture was enough to convince.
Like all good ideas that are spot-on at the time, the concept proved to be a roaring success. It wasn’t long before 15 Hoxton Market became too small to cater for demand. Expansion took the restaurant into an adjoining building and a different landlord and for while I acted there as well, until inconsistencies I’d found between what was charged and in the lease led to an irreconcilable difference in opinion, I resigned. Media articles, TV and radio interviews and by then Hoxton Square potential materialised and firmly on the map, LiveBait t/a The Real Greek was subsequently acquired by MeatTailer.
Let at £25,000 pa to begin with, when I did the first rent review in 2004, the advisers had taken over and the landlord’s looking forward to a rent uplift resisted by the usual spurious reasoning. It took a while to get an increase to £38,000 pa and even longer for my interpretation the tenant be responsible for my fees, but we got there. By 2014, I’d got the rent up to £46,000 pa.
I’d been managing agent throughout the lease, collecting the building insurance premium, but on expiry my answer to a question on what do was misunderstood so my original client’s children did the renewal themselves. I gather they’d had to accept the reality then of a downturn in the market.
Looking this afternoon on Instant Sreetview at the frontage, painted bright red, I think the blue paint in my day was more tasteful.
(2026-May: Linkedin) “I always find Michael’s comments welcome reminders of what a retained agent should be in terms of expertise, knowledge, application and common sense. Even in my world of media assets, possibly even more so, finding the right agent/expert is critical. Sadly, in my world it is often true that landlords are taking advice from agents/experts who actually know nothing or have relied upon hearsay and corrupted evidence. One such example was a City asset management team recounting and relying upon evidence supplied to a neighbouring City team as ‘evidence of the open market’ when that evidence was actually supplied by their tenant in negotiations.”
Posted on LinkedIn by Tim Thomas; Chartered Surveyor acting exclusively for landowners in the management of OOH and DOOH media assets since 1990.
(2026 March) In Twickenham, 44 King Street – next door to TG Jones (ex WH Smith) – my client bought the freehold investment at Allsop auction in April 1984: joint auctioneers, Langley & Taylor, London WC1: a ground floor lock-up shop with part-covered yard, and separate storage (ex-stable) at the back, all on one lease for 15 years from 1981 at current £6,800 pa, review in 1986, and a self-contained residential upper part on two floors above sold on long lease. I have acted for the landlord regularly since purchase.
To begin with, the ground floor was used as a sports shop until the tenant went broke in 1985, when relet at £12,000 pa to a hairdresser, an individual with several branches. When that hairdresser retired, he sold the business to another hairdresser that in turn sold to another until finally another in 2006; by then I had gotten the rent to £30,000 pa. Meanwhile, my client had bought in the lease of the residential flat for refurbishment and reletting on an AST. The last hairdresser succeeded for a while but in the end surrendered the lease.
Time for a change – in more ways than one. I reckoned the ex-stable at the back had potential for residential. The property in a Conservation Area, my client obtained planning permission in November 2020 – I provided a feasibility report on letting the shop without the store – the development completed and let on an AST.
The shop, refurbished, was let as a shell to a kitchen designer at £22,500 pax. After a while the tenant wanted out, so to avoid liability for business rates surrender not accepted before simultaneous re-letting in March 2026 to a franchisee of Cakeco, an expanding company, at £26,000 pax. Sneller Commercial were agents for both lettings. Advising my client generally throughout, I drafted Heads of Terms and liaised with my client’s solicitors on documentation.
(2026 March) In Canvey Island, Essex, the two shops 45 and 51 Furtherwick Road pre-date my acting regularly for the landlord since 1976. Both shops are ground floor and first floor ancillary, with rear vehicle access. Furtherwick Road is Canvey’s principal road, the Knightswick Shopping Centre nearby.
51 had been used as sn optician for decades until a member of his family took over the practise. Staying power not in the same league, attempt to re-let unsuccessful, the freehold sold with vacant possession at Athawes Son & Co auction.
In 2002, 45 let to the charity, Marie Curie, for 10 years at £15,000 pax, holding-over since 2012 until s27 notice in 2025. I arranged for Southend-on-Sea commercial agents, Ayers & Cruiks, to procure a tenant, completed at asking £18,000 pax to a nail bar with another branch in NW London. Also a local building surveyor to inspect and serve a terminal schedule of dilapidations, agree damages for repairs (supervised) and fees. So impressed with this building survveyor, I have recommended on two occasions since. I advised throughout as usual.
(2025 June.) From a trustee of a private charity owning a subtantial portfolio of commercial properties in England and Wales:
” Michael
I hope you are well.
Having worked with you for over two decades, I wanted to take a moment to put in writing something I have said many times privately: there is no one in this country quite like you when it comes to rent reviews and the wider commercial property field.
Your recent press release was a moving reminder of just how much you have contributed — not just to clients like myself, but to the very profession itself. Your story, from the foundations laid by your father, through your early days in central London, to the launch of your own pioneering practice in 1975, is nothing short of remarkable. You have carved out a niche that did not even exist before you created it.
What stands out most to me is the sheer uniqueness of your service. In truth, you are far more than a surveyor. You often operate at a level that outpaces even some of the most seasoned solicitors and, at times, challenges the sharpness of barristers and QCs. Your analytical ability, clarity of thought, and instinct for spotting both the opportunities and the pitfalls within lease structures are unparalleled.
You are, quite frankly, too modest in pricing. Your work consistently delivers results that would justify multiples of your fee, yet you have remained committed to making your expertise accessible. That alone speaks volumes about your character and values.
There is no one else in the UK commercial property market with your combination of historical insight, technical mastery, and razor-sharp reasoning when it comes to rent review negotiations. I have no doubt that your writings, newsletters, and the digital legacy of your law library will become essential reference material for years to come.
Michael, I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for your advice, your insights, your unmatched service, and above all, for being a genuine one-of-a-kind figure in this industry.
With sincere respect and warm regards,”
YB
“When asked what work I do, I say I argue for a living—and sometimes it spills over into my personal life.”
My father was a chartered surveyor, BSc (Est Man) FRICS, FAI. Of Fineman Lever & Co, Mr Fineman founded Dorrington Investment in 1936, Dorrington Investment PLC – primarily a residential property investment and development company – listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1959 until acquired by South Africa’s Schlesinger Group (Hanover Acceptances Ltd) and taken private in 1980. (Dorrington is still going strong.)
In 1967, after leaving the City of London School, my career in the commercial property market started at Montagu Evans & Son, in central London. I passed the stage 1 exam for the Chartered Auctioneers’ and Estate Agents’ Institute – in 1919, the CAI founded the College of Estate Management, and long after merged with the RICS – and was about to sit stage 2 when I quit. In 1971, I worked at my father’s estate agency branch in Harrow, NW London, where I set up a commercial property department before becoming an equity partner.
The 1970s oil crisis inflation introduced open market rent reviews at 3, 4, and 5 yearly intervals, replacing the typical 21-year lease with fixed increases every 7 years. In 1974, the Counter-Inflation (Business Rents) (Transition) Order limited rents to as at 5 November 1972 – paving the way for landlords and tenants to obtain premiums that bore no relationship to the capital value of the difference between the passing rent and estimated rental value.
I thank Trevor Aldridge, the first solicitor to become a QC, for what he said at a conference, about the problems caused by solicitors not liaising with surveyors on leases, that inspired me in 1975 to launch my practice as The Rent Review Specialist—before setting out to become one. To begin with, I had the field to myself. Of course, there were rent reviews before, but back-office, not front line. At the time, it was contrary to RICS rules for chartered surveyors to promote themselves as specialists, but I’m not a chartered surveyor.
The publicity generated soon put a stop to that, The RICS relaxed its rules. When the floodgates opened, the commercial property market became awash with copy-cats.
It is challenging, ups-and-downs along the way. During the 1980s, an unrelated direction involving a spare-time vocation tempted, but aligning my interests, concentrating on shops and industrial property, has held me in good stead. I collect information. I am transferring my law library of circa 11,000 items onto a private website: for CPD, re-reading everything.
As leases have become more template-oriented, so the flaws enabling tenants to exploit leave landlords in the lurch. I prefer bespoke leases, despite the extra costs to the client, drafted for the property and the availability of evidence. A review to open market rent whose valuation methodology depends on what else is out there presupposes supportive comparable evidence. The commercial property market is for landlords. Despite the commercial purpose of a rent review to keep pace with the changing value of money, a well-advised tenant can minimise an increase. A single word or phrase can often result in a substantial difference in rent.
I haven’t personally earned as much money as perhaps I should have done, but not only have I created what is nowadays a very profitable industry for lawyers and surveyors, but have also made a fortune for landlords and saved a lot of money for tenants. Not having any successors, my way to hand on is to contribute to market intelligence and professional wisdom, as I have done regularly since 1975 through my newsletters and writings and will continue to do so until…
Thank you for your help, advice, and recommendations to use my services.
I look forward to helping you in some way.
Michael Lever
The Rent Review Specialist
Established 1975; and in June 2025: 50 years help@michaellever.co.uk
(2025 May: LinkedIn) In 1989, my client bought a property in South London prior to auction, let to a national retailer. The retailer closed the branch and offered a new intermediate lease for circa £1M which was bought by an investment company. That company sub-let the property to another national retailer. The rent reviews are every 21 years and geared to the market rent (as defined by the lease), the first review in 1995. Although my client owned the freehold, part of the property was on a long lease with a same date review. The freeholder’s surveyor reasoned that the rent should include the notional rent of an overhanging building (nothing to do with my client). We investigated the history of the building and obtained legal advice. Rather than incur the costs of going to court in the hope of rectification, we reckoned the least expensive route was to agree a slightly higher rent than the stipulated gearing percentage.
Before the 2016 review, the intermediate lease had been assigned to a well-known property company. For the 2016 review, triggered in 2018, the freeholder via a different surveyor reiterated the same reasoning. This time I referred the review to arbitration, to get the arbitrator to go to court for a declaration. But before that, my client sold the freehold (and long lease) to the well-known property company on condition that part of the purchase price would be withheld pending the outcome of the review. To the buyer’s surveyor, I provided the background information, etc. After a while, the buyer decided to settle also by agreeing a slightly higher rent. The claw-back on the purchase price is about half of what it would’ve been if the review had been nil increase.
I am unable to disclose any more because the sale is subject to an NDA.
[To put another way:
In 1989, my client (A) bought the freehold – including part on a long lease from B – all let on long lease to C.
Next, C granted a new intermediate lease (premium circa £1M) to D.
D sub-under lease to E.
Review 1995, (i) between A and D; then (ii) between B and A, B’s surveyor reasoned as above.
Before 2016, D assigned intermediate lease to F.
Before 2016 review was agreed, (triggered in 2018, B’s surveyor reasoned as above) A sold to F (subject to claw-back)
F agreed the 2016 review with B.]
2
(2025 May) – Currently, I’m acting as expert witness for a head lessee of a block of shops in a village near St Albans. It’s an unusual rent review involving a dispute with the freeholder about the amount of ground rent. Despite a previous review involving different parties, there is no documentation on how the rent was arrived at.
Whenever I write a report, I include a potted history to provide a sense of place – and help keep the memory alive. I found a postcard of the block shortly after it was built, but could only guess what the site had been used for before. My guess was almost right. The local history society has sent me photos of what was there before, including a photo of the man whose building it was. His café had been named after the distance the village is from London.
A few years ago, I was instructed by Chipping Norton Town Council (Oxfordshire) to value the rents for a rifle range and a football ground in its community centre at Greystones. Curious to find out what an old house used as offices and nowadays owned by a private landlord, I found it had been a hunting lodge, the 52 acres gardens. The CN local history society sent me a copy of the auction catalogue from the 1950s, when the property had been sold to the council. I contacted the agents for the owner of the offices and asked them to ask their client to contact me, as I thought that perhaps the owner would like to have the history of the building. He did. So now he knows – which he didn’t before.
If you’ve ever done any work at the Kings Cross London end of Caledonian Road N1, you may have heard the name Stukey as the local developer. Unlike his contemporaries who sold the properties they built, he kept the circa 200 he built: shops, flats and houses. Probably cost next to nothing by modern standards, worth a fortune nowadays. For about 10 years I’ve acted for the tenant of the pizza restaurant at 14/16 – the rent there alone circa £60K. Also, I acted for the tenants at no 10 and 50. The latter (50) the trustees had sold to a developer who wanted to get rid of the tenant and succeeded.
Tenant: HSBC plc
Ground floor banking hall, first floor ancillary offices, on-site parking at the rear.
Occupied by my client’s family since circa 1950 for their multiple retailer bakers. In 1973 let to Midland Bank plc on two leases: for 20 years until 1993, and a reversionary lease from 1993 to 2013. RR-5 yearly, upward only. No breaks. In 2008, revised rent £20,000 pax.
The first time an expired Lease involved LTA54 on renewal in 2021. s26 notice request at £15,000 pa for 5 years, 6 months rent-free, TB at year 3. Agreed £21,000 pa, no rent-free, term 5 years, TB at year 3. ITZA 441.46 equating to Zone A £47.57 including parking space.
Having acted for the freeholder since 1993, I sold the freehold investment for approximately 20 YP (just under 5%). In August 2023, 74 High Street (also let to HSBC plc) sold for 5.85%.
(2023 Sep) Acting for Mark & Sons Ltd, the Freeholder-Landlord of a public house in London SW19, I have helped achieve its objective for the rent payable for the protected rent debt period defined by The Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Act 2022. This Act has a short life for the dispute procedure. Application for arbitration had to be made between 25 March 2022 and 24 September 2022. Unusually for arbitration, which is usually private, the award is published on the accredited body’s website, in this case, the RICS
https://www.rics.org/dispute-resolution-service/drs-services/covid-rent-arrears-arbitration
(Gouldbourn 3 – 13/07/2023 (PDF 0.20MB)
The Arbitrator was Simon Gouldbourn BSc MRICS ACIArb of KLM Real Estate, London W1.
Unusually, (the Act permits otherwise), commercially sensitive information is not excluded. If you are interested in reading the award, then you may do so.