Upper Craigs, Stirling

Graham + Sibbald were delighted to be instructed to source a suitable tenant to occupy the former Cook’s Hotel in Stirling on behalf of our client.

We are recognised as one of the leaders in this field in Scotland, working across a range of business types, but have particular expertise in the Hospitality, Licensed and Leisure sector. As a result, we are retained by many of Scotland’s leading hospitality and leisure groups to manage the sales and disposal of their business portfolios.

We provide a level of experience and expertise that many retail or commercial agents lack. In particular, we offer a specialist, sector-specific understanding of accounting principles, employment legislation and licensing regulations.

Approach

Initially the team provided formal advice in a Marketing Report. We indicated that we believed there to be value in the F+F, and that the property needed to be deep cleaned and presented for marketing purposes.

Following this advice, the Landlord had some cleaners attend the premises and dispose of all food stuffs.

Our approach was then to market the availability through our website, specialist portals and in trade related publications. In addition, we instructed a drone video of the site to highlight its location and position within the City.

Heads of Terms were issued to the successful party and an Offer to Lease with Lease was provided to the Tenant’s solicitors by the Landlord’s solicitors.

The team worked with the Landlord’s solicitor to ensure that missives were concluded as soon as possible.

Key Challenges

The premises comprised an empty unit which had unfortunately seen several failed operations in the last five years.

With the Landlord unwilling to sell the premises, our team were required to source a suitable tenant with the skills, experience and financial standing to be able to fulfill the obligations within the Lease.

Results

The project was initially estimated to take 6 to 12 months to complete, but was finalised within five months.

Regular updates were provided to the Landlord during the marketing period, and our team liaised with the tenant and solicitors when concluding the missives, in order to ensure the process was as smooth as possible for all parties involved.

There was a grand total of 37 interested parties generated, eight formal viewings and several verbal offers received during the marketing campaign.

The Fixtures and Fittings were sold to the incoming Operator, giving the Landlord a cash return to cover some of the lost rent.

Key Message

Dedication from our team to chase up all interested parties ensured we found a successful and experienced licensed trade operator, allowing this Project to complete ahead of client expectations on marketing time.