Wednesday June 30, 2010 at 4:46pm
When entering into a lease of business premises the landlord may require the tenant to provide a rent deposit. This is a sum of money equivalent to, for example, 6 months’ rent. A rent deposit gives the landlord some security in the event that the tenant fails to pay the rent on time or does not comply with its other obligations in the lease. In these circumstances the landlord can deduct sums from the deposit to cover the arrears of rent. It is crucial from the point of view of the tenant....
(read more...)Monday June 21, 2010 at 3:29pm
Back in March I blogged on the new mandatory conditions which came into force on 6 April. One of these conditions was a ban on irresponsible promotions.
But remember the overiding requirement with the irresponsible promotions condition, that even if a promotion falls into one of the listed categories (see my earlier blog) or a similar category, to be in breach of the condition the offending promotion must be designed to encourage the sale or supply of alcohol and in a manner which carries ....
(read more...)Wednesday June 16, 2010 at 6:59pm
According to a recent Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) survey, although the level of small business satisfaction with high street banks remains low overall, one of the most important things firms looked for in a bank was a good working relationship with their business manager. There was a strong correlation between the number of business managers a firm dealt with in a 2-year period and the level of dissatisfaction reported. Firms that had the same manager for 2 years had a dissatisfaction l....
(read more...)Tuesday June 15, 2010 at 9:56pm
The Meanwhile Project could provide another solution to landlords with empty high street premises.
The idea behind the project is to provide temporary occupation of empty properties in town centres by community groups to improve footfall, appearance and vitality of town centres which would otherwise be dominated by vacant units.
There are several obvious benefits to landlords of having occupied rather than empty premises including avoiding business rates on empty property.
For more ....
(read more...)Monday June 14, 2010 at 9:54am
The new PPS 3 now defines previously developed land (brownfield land) as follows:
‘Previously-developed land is that which is or was occupied by a permanent structure, including the curtilage of the developed land and any associated fixed surface infrastructure.’ The definition includes defence buildings, but excludes:
Land that is or has been occupied by agricultural or forestry buildings.
Land that has been developed for minerals extraction or waste disposal by landfill pu....
(read more...)Friday June 11, 2010 at 5:44pm
Directors are under a legal duty to maintain detailed accounting records of their company. In particular, they must maintain records:
to show and explain transactions, and disclose the financial position of the company at any time with reasonable accuracy;
to enable them to compile balance sheets and profit and loss accounts;
to keep records of all money received and paid out by the company on a day-to-day basis;
to maintain records of the company’s assets and liabilities;....
(read more...)Wednesday June 9, 2010 at 11:16am
The Government has announced that back gardens are to be reclassified for planning purposes. The effect of this is that it will be easier to for Local Planning Authorities to oppose applications from developers to develop garden land as the developer will not be able to argue that the land is 'brownfield'.
At the same time, however, the Government is also proposing that local residents have more say over development in their area. It may be the case that if a development proposal ha....
(read more...)Monday June 7, 2010 at 10:54am
You may remember that back in February I blogged on the outcome of the court case supported by The British Beer and Pub association (BBPA) which meant that PPL had been overcharging to the tune of perhaps £20m across the industry since 2005.
It has just been announced that Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL) have written to all holders of PPL licences to explain how they can reclaim the overpayments going back to 2005. Letters should be arriving this week. So all venues, pubs, clubs, hotel....
(read more...)Thursday June 3, 2010 at 6:54pm
The government has taken its first steps to reducing the amount of red tape which is stifling business, particularly SMEs. The Business Secretary, Vince Cable, has announced an action plan to tackle excessive regulation. It includes the following:
The creation of a new Cabinet “Star Chamber”, officially to be called the Reducing Regulation Committee, which will be chaired by Mr Cable. It is tasked with “stress-testing” proposed regulations to make sure that only thos....
(read more...)Tuesday June 1, 2010 at 10:10am
The celebration of the World Cup with promotional events and high spirits is bound to bring out the kill joys. There will be occasions when celebrations are taken to excess, but is it necessary for a doomsday approach by the Home Office? It is rumoured that they are taking a tough position in "guidance notes" issued to police forces, and that pubs face heightened contact from the police during the football tournament.
It is understood that there will be random visits to licensed premi....
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