Transactional Services

Every commercial
property transaction
your business will
ever need

-handled.

Leasing, acquisitions, and disposals managed end-to-end — independently, expertly, and exclusively in your interest. From first conversation to final signature.

Schedule a Strategy Call

Three Transaction Types. One Advisor.

Every commercial property transaction carries financial risk, legal complexity, and strategic consequence.

Whether you are signing a new lease, acquiring a building, or exiting space you no longer need, every commercial property transaction involves a counterparty who is professionally represented and commercially motivated to secure the best outcome for their position. The quality of advice and advocacy you receive during that transaction determines your outcome, often by millions of rands.

Corporate Real Estate Solutions manages commercial property transactions exclusively for occupiers, investors, and owners, providing the independent expertise, market intelligence, and negotiating rigor that the counterparty will certainly have, and that you deserve to have too.

Transaction Type 01 — Commercial Leasing

New space. Relocation. Renewal.
Every lease transaction managed independently.

In the South African commercial property market, most tenants are advised, knowingly or unknowingly, by brokers whose fee is paid by the landlord. This is a fundamental conflict of interest that most businesses never question.

Commercial leasing is the most frequent property transaction a business will undertake and the one most often managed without adequate independent advice. Whether you are securing new premises for the first time, relocating your operations, or renewing an existing lease, every leasing transaction involves a landlord who is professionally represented and commercially motivated to secure the best terms for their asset.

Our commercial leasing service places an equally professional, equally motivated advocate on your side of the transaction, with one critical difference. We are paid by you, and we act exclusively for you.

We manage every stage from initial brief and requirements analysis through market search, shortlisting, inspection, proposal, negotiation, heads of agreement, and legal review, ensuring you enter every lease with complete confidence in the terms you have secured.

Our commercial leasing service covers three distinct transaction types — each managed with the same rigour of market intelligence and independent advocacy.

New Leases – Full market search and negotiation for businesses securing commercial space for the first time or entering a new node, from brief to executed lease.
Relocations – End-to-end relocation management, including current lease exit strategy, market search, competing proposals, negotiation, and handover coordination.
Renewals – Proactive renewal negotiation starting 18–24 months before expiry, benchmarked against live market data, structured around your business needs.

01

Commercial Leasing

New leases, relocations, and renewals managed independently — from brief and market search through negotiated heads of agreement to legal execution. We act exclusively for the occupier.

What our leasing service includes

How we manage every transaction — from brief to completion.

Every transaction we manage follows a consistent five-stage process. Each stage has a clear purpose, a defined deliverable, and a senior advisor accountable for its execution.

Full Lease Negotiation

We negotiate every financial and operational term — rental rate, TIA, rent-free period, escalation, break options, parking, make-good, and renewal rights — against live market benchmarks, until we have secured the best achievable outcome across all terms.

Requirements Brief & Space Planning

We document your space requirements — size, specification, location, budget, timeline, and operational constraints — and model your headcount trajectory to ensure the space you commit to today serves your business throughout the full lease term.

Full Market Search

We canvas the full market — both listed and off-market availability — across all relevant nodes. We approach every relevant landlord and agent directly, ensuring no suitable option is overlooked and our shortlist reflects the true range of available alternatives.

Shortlist Evaluation & Inspections

We prepare a structured evaluation matrix for all shortlisted options — comparing rental, grade, specification, location, parking, total cost of occupancy, and lease flexibility — and present a clear recommendation before any negotiation commences.

Competing Proposals

We approach multiple preferred landlords simultaneously — creating genuine competitive tension that drives each to improve their offer. Managing competing proposals is one of the most effective tools in lease negotiation, and one that tenants cannot use when dealing with a single landlord's agent.

Common questions

Frequently asked questions.

What types of property transactions do you manage?
We manage three categories of commercial property transaction for corporate clients across South Africa: commercial leasing — including new leases, renewals, and relocations; property acquisitions — including buy-side advisory for owner-occupiers and investors; and disposals — including the sale of owned assets and the sublease or surrender of leased space your business no longer requires. Each is managed independently, with your interests exclusively represented throughout.
Do you act for both buyers and sellers, or landlords and tenants?
We do not act for both sides of any transaction. On leasing transactions we act exclusively for the occupier — never the landlord. On acquisition transactions we act exclusively for the buyer. On disposal transactions we act exclusively for the vendor or outgoing tenant. This single-side mandate is fundamental to our independence and to the quality of outcome we achieve for our clients.
How is your transaction service different from a standard commercial property broker?
A standard commercial property broker is typically paid by the other party — the landlord on a leasing transaction, or the seller on an acquisition — which creates an inherent conflict of interest. We are paid by you, accountable to you, and have no financial relationship with the counterparty. This means our advice is genuinely independent, our negotiating position is uncompromised, and our only objective is securing the best possible outcome for your business.
What does buy-side acquisition advisory involve?
Buy-side acquisition advisory covers the full process of identifying, evaluating, and acquiring a commercial property on behalf of a corporate purchaser. This includes market search and property identification, due diligence coordination, independent valuation assessment, price negotiation, conditions management, and transaction completion. We act exclusively for the buyer — never the seller — ensuring your interests are protected at every stage of the acquisition process.
What is a sublease and when should I consider one?
A sublease occurs when a tenant who holds a lease over premises they no longer require sublets that space to a third party — the subtenant — for the remainder of their lease term, or part of it. A sublease is worth considering any time your business has surplus space — whether due to a headcount reduction, a consolidation, a relocation, or a change in working patterns. A well-managed sublease converts a fixed cost liability into a cost offset and can recover significant expenditure over the remaining lease term.
Can you help us exit a lease we no longer need?
Yes. Lease exit and surrender is one of the most complex and financially significant transactions a corporate occupier faces — and one where independent, experienced advice is most valuable. We assess all available exit strategies — sublease, surrender negotiation, assignment, and lease buyout — and advise on the most cost-effective route given your specific lease terms, your landlord’s current position, and the market conditions in your node.
Which markets do you cover for transactional services?
We manage commercial property transactions across all of South Africa’s major commercial nodes — including Johannesburg, Sandton, Rosebank, Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria, and Port Elizabeth, as well as secondary markets across the country. Our market intelligence is current across each of these nodes, and for national or multi-city transaction assignments we coordinate a dedicated team with specific expertise in each relevant market.

Get Started

Ready to make your
next property decision
with confidence?

Whether your lease is expiring in 6 months or 3 years, the best time to engage a CRE advisor is earlier than you think. Let’s start with a no-obligation strategy call.

Prefer to call?

+27 61 484 5578

info@corporaterealestate.co.za

Long Street
City Center, Cape Town
South Africa

Related Services

Where the analysis leads next.

Lease Negotiation & Renewal

We negotiate directly with your landlord on your behalf, securing improved rental rates, enhanced TIA, extended rent-free periods, and more favourable escalation and option clause

Tenant Representation Services

We act exclusively in your interest to identify, evaluate, and negotiate the best available premises in your target market, managing the full transaction from brief to handover.