Streamlining leases for Smithfield market traders

We helped Birmingham City Council lay the groundwork for a major redevelopment of the area.    

The Smithfield market site in Birmingham is set to undergo a £1.9 billion redevelopment in 2027. For this to go ahead, the existing market traders need to be issued with new leases which will all expire at the same time and at a point where Birmingham City Council can rely on recovering possession of the site to proceed with the redevelopment.

Anthony Collins (AC) has been working with Birmingham City Council to update and regularise these leases. The council needed the renewal of the leases to go smoothly to keep the market traders in business and enable the public to still have access and maintain income from the rent for the public purse. It was also important to put the leases on a footing where the council would be able to take control of the site at the right time.

Handling the complications

Under landlord and tenant law, a business tenant must give or be given formal notice to terminate their existing lease before a new one is granted. To recover possession of premises, a landlord must also have statutory grounds for bringing a lease to an end. Redevelopment is one such reason but the landlord (in this case, the council) must be able to demonstrate the redevelopment is imminent, which was not yet possible in this case.

But the council needed to prevent a situation where large numbers of leases were ending at different times and avoid renewals at times when the development should have started. This could cause major delays and potentially involve costly compensation payments to traders. 

Streamlining the situation 

So, the AC property team took control, served notice on all existing tenants and has been negotiating to ensure the new leases would all expire at the same time. In total, we will have issued about 65 statutory notices to the traders on behalf of the council and agreed new leases to tie in with the timetable of the new development. 

Another complication was that business tenants are entitled to a new lease on the same terms but, for some existing leases, those terms had never been documented. By issuing new leases we were able to make sure all the terms were formalised when there are no immediate time pressures to avoid any ambiguity in the future. 

Now the leases have been streamlined, the traders are clear they can operate for the number of years stated, while the council knows its income is protected. The vital legal foundations mean the proposed multi-million-pound redevelopment has been set up to proceed when the council decides in 2027. 

A new sustainable quarter

The redevelopment will transform this area of the city which has been home to the Bull Ring markets for many years. Building on its history of trading, the site will include a brand-new market. But it will also involve the creation of thousands of new sustainable homes, several green community spaces, cultural and leisure hubs, a festival square and a landscaped park plus integrated transport. Thousands of new jobs will also be generated.

Making timely progress

Our legal advice meant the council could communicate regularly with the traders on an informed basis and make provisions for the future. It also gave their development partners confidence that, when the time comes, progress could be made based on a timetable to fit the redevelopment.

The AC team has found it a privilege to play its part in this landmark project for Birmingham.   

“We were acutely aware of how important the project is, given its scope and size. But our experience enabled us to develop a successful two-pronged strategy in shoring up the council’s position in the short-term and putting them in a position to deliver their aims regarding the development in the long-term.”
Phil Scully, partner, Anthony Collins