Ongoing agreement with a major retailer to provide contract and project support

Facts

Client: Major retailer

Country: UK

Industry: Retail

Issues

Fenwick Elliott has an ongoing agreement with a major retailer to help its legal team with all property matters – fit-outs, remedial works, upgrades and new builds.

Work ranges from scrutinising contractors’ due diligence documents, to advising on the quality of developer’s and landlords’ construction documents.

Over a two-year period Fenwick Elliott has updated and revised our client’s extensive suite of standard construction documents, used for its established supply chain of consultants and contractors.

Because of these precautions disputes rarely arise, but on occasions when they do, Fenwick Elliott advises our client on strategies to manage and minimise claims.

Solutions

No two properties are the same, so due diligence exercises are often extensive and detailed. By being provided with specific property reports, the legal team can often negotiate favourable deals with developers and landlords.

When taking on new-build properties, Fenwick Elliott ensures that our client has robust defect-rectification clauses in place.

Numerous meetings were held to redraft the standard construction documents used by our client. The revisions have resulted in a series of more detailed, legally watertight documents. The redrafting process was followed-up with familiarisation workshops for the client’s internal and external management teams.

Benefits

With Fenwick Elliott’s assistance, our client can make informed choices about the properties it intends to lease, buy or refurbish – as well as about the risks it might be exposed to post-completion, and how to mitigate them. The client benefits from the sound contractual protection it needs to grow and prosper.

The updated documents mean the retailer’s property team can meet the challenges of the modern marketplace and address issues with practical responses.

Since the introduction of the new suite of documents, the retailer has needed far less external project support, saving it both time and money.