Broadfield has successfully advised key landlord client The British and Foreign Wharf Company Limited on a contested commercial lease renewal of the famous Ministry of Sound nightclub in Central London.
The lease came up for renewal and the nightclub opposed our client’s request for a break option in the renewal lease to facilitate future redevelopment of the site, which sits at the heart of the Elephant & Castle regeneration area. The site itself has not been redeveloped since the nightclub was opened over 30 years ago, but is surrounded by recent and ongoing regeneration projects and has the potential to generate substantial public benefit.
After a four-day trial, the Judge granted our client the redevelopment break it sought, along with an increased rent, paving the way for the site to be redeveloped in the coming years. Significantly for commercial landlords, the judgment clearly upholds the long-established legal principle that the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, which governs many commercial leases, is not intended to stifle redevelopment where there is a real possibility that the premises will be required for reconstruction during the renewal lease term.
The Broadfield team advising The British and Foreign Wharf Company Limited consisted of Partners James Barnett (Real Estate) and Simon Painter (Litigation), together with Litigation Legal Director Judith Smyth and Litigation Of Counsel Aoife Murphy.
