Answers · Choosing a leaseback counterparty
What should I look for in a sale and leaseback buyer?
Direct answer
The most important choice in a sale and leaseback is between a permanent-hold owner, who intends to keep the property for the long term and is aligned with your ongoing tenancy, and a trader or syndicator, who may look to sell or reposition the asset within a few years. Ask directly about hold intentions, decision-making, and how reviews are conducted before signing.
A permanent-hold buyer's return depends on the building and the tenancy performing well for a long time, which tends to translate into fair, transparent rent reviews, genuine reinvestment in the asset, and a stable relationship. A trader or fund with a shorter investment horizon may be a perfectly reasonable buyer too, but the incentives are different — the building could be sold on, and a new owner isn't bound by an old handshake, only by what's actually in the lease.
Useful questions to put to a prospective buyer include: how long do you typically hold assets, who makes decisions on your side and how quickly, how are rent reviews conducted in practice, and what happens if you sell the building during my lease term. The answers — and how directly they're given — tell you a lot.
Ultimately the lease document is what actually binds a future owner, so getting the terms right matters regardless of who you sell to. But the counterparty's genuine intentions shape how those terms get applied day to day, which is why it's worth weighing as carefully as the price.
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