Your lease is a financial commitment. It should be negotiated like one.

A five-year office lease is one of the largest financial obligations a company signs. Yet most businesses negotiate it reactively — accepting standard terms, escalation clauses tied to CPI, and flexibility provisions that favour the landlord.

I approach leasing the way a CFO should: as a financial instrument that needs to be structured, stress-tested, and optimised.

Office Relocation

You need to move — for growth, consolidation, or because the current space no longer works. I source options across on-market and off-market opportunities, negotiate terms, and manage the transition. The goal isn't just finding space. It's finding the right space at the right price with the right exit provisions if your needs change.

Lease Renewal & Renegotiation

Your lease is expiring. The landlord sends a renewal with an 8% escalation and calls it standard. I bring current market data — comparable rents, vacancy rates, tenant concessions in your building and submarket — and negotiate from a position of knowledge, not assumption. Most tenants leave money on the table at renewal because they don't know what "market rate" actually is. I do.

Sub-leasing

You've got 200 desks and 80 people showing up. Hybrid work changed the equation, but your lease hasn't. I find sub-tenants, structure the arrangement, and recover cost from space you're paying for but not using.

Early Termination

Locked into a lease that no longer fits? I negotiate exits — structured settlements, replacement tenants, phased handbacks — that get you out without the standard penalty of 3-6 months' rent plus unamortised costs. There's almost always a way out. It just needs someone who knows how to structure it.

Why this matters in South Africa right now

• Escalation clauses are compounding quietly. Over a 5-year lease, an unchallenged CPI-linked escalation can cost hundreds of thousands more than a negotiated cap.
• Hybrid work has left most companies with 20-30% more space than they need. That's dead money unless you act.
• Load-shedding is reshaping building value. Properties without backup power are losing tenants. That's leverage if you know how to use it — and a risk if you don't.
• The market is softer than landlords admit. Prime office vacancy in Johannesburg is widening. Tenants who negotiate now have more leverage than they've had in years.