Advantages of sale and leaseback

30/03/2020

Sale and leaseback offers businesses that own commercial property a great way to release large amounts of capital without needing to relocate and minimise disruption.

Whether you are keen to release funds to help with the current challenges, trying to improve your cash flow or need additional cash to diversify as part of your current business strategy, sale and leaseback facilities can provide the cash boost to support your business.

The process involves selling business premises to a sale and leaseback provider whilst agreeing to lease it back from them. This can provide a significant cash boost, alongside other unique benefits that make sale and leaseback an attractive choice for many businesses.

Of course, the primary reason many businesses choose sale and leaseback is for the capital that will be released. Often the commercial property will be a sizeable asset on a company’s balance sheet.

Sale and leaseback enables businesses to release that capital to reinvest as they see fit.

Reduce risks

By entering into a sale and leaseback agreement, businesses avoid many of the risks involved with owning and carrying a property on their balance sheet. Common risks include significant changes in its value and unexpected maintenance and repair bills.

With sale and leaseback, you will effectively become a long-term tenant. While some leases may include a level of maintenance costs, this is often negotiable, with the landlord assuming responsibility for many of the associated risks and costs associated with running a property.

Remain within your current workspace and familiar surroundings

For many businesses, the space they operate from will have been modified to fit their purpose and many would have undergone extensive remodelling and modifications to ensure their space works for them. It may also be situated in a prime location they wouldn’t want to lose – not to mention the unnecessary costs associated with moving and relocating.

In some cases sale and leaseback can be used by businesses who are currently renting, whose landlord is putting their property up for sale, and they would like to avoid moving but purchasing the premises isn’t an option for various reasons.

Read about one business that found itself in this situation and how sale and leaseback helped here

Tax and accounting benefits

When it comes to sale and leaseback, there are also some key accounting and tax benefits. For instance, the business will be making monthly payments which are tax deductible, meaning a tax saving.

Additionally, any outstanding debt associated with the property will come off your balance sheet, helping the debt to equity ratio.