Long tenancies, quiet buildings

A building in which tenants stay is a building in which care becomes possible. We aim for tenancies counted in years rather than in months, and we shape our selection accordingly.

Long tenancies have both an economic and a human reason. Economically they save what destroys most value in our business: vacancy, re-letting costs, and the constant refurbishments between short uses. A tenant who stays for ten years is, on almost any spreadsheet, the better tenant — even at a more modest starting rent.

Humanly, something else matters. Someone who knows they will stay a long time treats the space differently. They settle in, they look after things, they report small issues before they grow. They become a partner to the landlord, rather than a counterparty. That is the relationship we are looking for.

For our selection this means three things: we assess carefully, we rarely let under time pressure, and we prefer tenants who can credibly show us that they intend to stay — an established local business, a family with ties to the region, or a self-employed professional who does not want to change address every year.