Property agents and auctioneers CPBigwood have strengthened their internal financial systems.

It comes as the firm continues its growth push, recently announcing new office openings in Loughborough and London in addition to their two offices in Birmingham, and in Stratford-upon-Avon and Henley-in-Arden.

CPBigwood, produced from the merger in autumn last year of Curry & Partners and Bigwood, has appointed Ian Tullett to the new role of financial controller.

He arrives from barristers No5 Chambers where he was finance manager. He has 15 year experience in the legal sector in financial roles.

In 2011 CPBigwood’s auction sales alone totalled more than £46 million, 18 per cent up on 2010.

Nigel Curry, managing partner, said: “CPBigwood has grown in leaps and bounds, so it is important that our financial controls match that expansion.

“Ian is an experienced operator and we are very pleased to have him on board. In the past we have worked via a part-time finance director, but, with the increased demands of the business, this needed to be addressed. Hence we have appointed Ian to a new fulltime role.”

Mr Tullett said: “It is fantastic to be joining an organisation with such positivity and drive.

“CPBigwood has ambitious plans and I am looking forward to being at the centre of them.”

From Stafford, Mr Tullett is a graduate of Staffordshire University.

Hair today and, for most Movemberers at property agents CPBigwood … gone tomorrow!

Eleven members of staff grew moustaches as part of the world-wide campaign to raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health including prostate and testicular cancer.

Their contribution will exceed £2,000.

“Pretty gruesome and very uncomfortable,” quipped senior partner Rory Daly, whose razor was on red alert for days ahead of the month’s end.

“But worth it for such a good cause. However I was not remotely tempted to keep it!”

Sue Randell, team captain and head of marketing & PR, added: “The whole thing has been such fun – it’s been a real morale booster for the office. There’s been plenty of banter.

“We are hoping to get the final total up to the £3,000 mark which is a great achievement.”

Others of the fuzz-on-top-lip brigade were Jonnie Hackett, Les Balla, Matt Hill, Andrew Winstanley, Brian Hughes, Richard Gosnay, Rob Watts, Gurpreet Bassi, George Brittain and Rob McPhillips.

It is estimated that one in nine men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime and this year will see 40,000 new cases of the disease in the UK alone. Forty-seven per cent of testicular cancer cases occur in men aged under 35 and over 90 per cent in men under 55.

Planning changes, which will allow empty offices to be converted into new housing without the need for planning permission, are a step in the right direction, according to Brett Williams of agents CPBigwood.

Mr Williams, a partner in the residential service charge department, said the Government announcement would benefit Birmingham and other major cities.

He stressed: “Birmingham has got top class office developments of which everyone is proud but at the other extreme it also has a considerable amount of run-down and unused stock, some of it in a dreadful condition.

“Some properties are not up to today’s requirements, perhaps in the wrong place as a result of shifting commercial priorities, and are frankly unlikely ever to be let again.

“Examples are all over –just take a walk around Digbeth and parts of central Birmingham.. There has been successful residential conversion but this move by the Government will remove one barrier.

“People want to live in the City now, near to where they work and these conversions are ideal. There are former commercial buildings now in residential use on Paradise Circus, Bennetts Hill, Corporation Street and of course our beloved Rotunda on New Street. This applies throughout the country’s major cities.

“It seems a dreadful waste and represents a blot on society when there is such a desperate need for new homes. I believe this is a courageous experiment by the Government,” he said.

Unveiled by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles, it allows change of use from B1(a) office to C3 residential, something Mr Pickles claimed would boost local housing supply, create jobs in the construction industry and regenerate town centres.

The permitted development right will exist for three years.

Local authorities can seek an exemption if they can demonstrate that there would be “substantial adverse economic consequences” to converting the office space.

Mr Williams noted: “I can understand that in some circumstances there could be a legitimate concern about the ability of a city to generate economic growth if swathes of offices went, however sub-standard.

“But I think this would be most unlikely to happen in practice. Left to the market, and with the right incentives, developers would step up to the mark and replenish the office supply where needed, producing a new quality offer to meet today’s expectations, while also looking to regenerate old, redundant office buildings for flats and apartments. This will also assist with the housing need requirements and help with the sensitive issue of green field development.

“And certainly a firm like CPBigwood, which handles both residential and commercial, agency and property management, as well as being experienced in selling sites for new usage, would relish the opportunities this would create.

“It will be fascinating to see how the industry responds.”

Is there a doctor in the house?

Perhaps there should be because Westerley House, 124 Metchley Lane, is just five minutes walk from Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

So the property, being marketed by agents CPBigwood, would be ideal for someone in the medical profession.

It is also just five minutes from Harborne High Street, a very popular and in demand location, so the appeal is likely to be much wider.

Which is perhaps why Tom Dennes, CPBigwood’s head of residential agency, has revealed a “stack of interest”.

He said: “Just down Metchley Lane is the QE, so it couldn’t be more convenient for anyone working there.

“Westerley House is an imposing house dating, we believe, from the 1930s and further altered in recent years. Set back from the road behind a wide driveway, it has plenty of off street parking and a double garage.

“Though it is in need of general modernisation throughout, although partly fitted with double glazed windows and with a fairly modern boiler, it has terrific possibilities. Subject to the normal consents, there is potential to further extend the house either at the rear or over the garage.

“Internally, the accommodation is well laid out with well proportioned rooms throughout. There are three reception rooms together with a conservatory leading off the kitchen.

“So it has a lot going for it.”

The guide price is £550,000.

It comprises four bedrooms, guest WC, two bathrooms (one en-suite), sitting room, dining room, conservatory, office, kitchen, utility room and boiler room.

The property extends to 0.37 acres in all, and there is a level mature garden.

At the end of the garden is a garden room/studio providing further potential accommodation as a home office, studio or games room.

Westerly House sits at the top end of Metchley Lane just before the roundabout with Barlow’s Road.

“It is therefore ideal for Harborne High Street with its wide variety of shopping facilities, cafes and restaurants,” added Mr Dennes.

For the family buyer, there are plenty of local schools in the area, with Blue Coat School virtually on the doorstep.

Birmingham city centre is about three miles away.

And there is even something for the history buff.

Metchley Lane is an old route running from the Harborne Lane crossing of the Bournbrook up to Harborne village. Metchley Park, which lay a few hundred yards east of Metchley Lane, was a medieval deer park belonging to the de Birmingham family.

But the area goes back even further – to Roman times.

Directly in front of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital is the site of a Roman marching fort.

Metchley Fort was built in the late 40s AD as part of the drive to extend the northern frontier to a line between the Rivers Trent and Severn on the orders of Publius Ostorius Scapula, the Roman governor of Britain. It was built either by the XIV or the XX Legion who led the Roman advance through the Midlands.

Mention it to the children – guaranteed to give you hours of peace as they play at being centurions!

Big hearted staff at property agents CPBigwood have been totting up their 2012 charity effort.

And, directly and indirectly, it comes to over £150,000.

Head of marketing Sue Randell said: “Our people really take charity giving to their hearts.

“The example is set from the top and throughout the organisation people volunteer.

“It is lovely that we can help charities – it gives everyone a boost. Hopefully we can do even better in 2013.”

Every year deserving charities are nominated by the staff with The Epilepsy Society, John Taylor Hospice and Edwards Trust each receiving £439 which was raised through events such as dress down days, a loose change tin, tuck shop and supporting quit smoking campaign Stoptober.

Individual and group challenges included Movember moustache-growing, £3,053; James Ironmonger £600 for Cardiac Risk in the Young raised via a charity fun run; Children In Need, £500; Ms Randell and colleagues Charlotte Ford and Michelle Laidler £488 for Acorns Hospice by tip-toeing through a Gateley Walk on Hot Coals event; and Jo Noyce £150 for The Albion Foundation by finishing the Great Midlands Fun Run.

Company donations were sent to St Mary’s Hospice – £8,400 raised from the firm’s 10th Annual Charity Golf Day; a £5,000 cheque went to Marie Curie; £3,000 to Edwards Trust and £3,000 to Molly Olly’s Wishes. Cure Leukaemia benefited from a £1,000 donation via a Moseley Rugby Club Sponsored Walk.

And there were many more examples.

The auctioneering skills of CPBigwood senior partner Rory Daly and partner Graham Carter were much in demand and between them they helped to raise over £125,000 at various charity events including the West Midlands Property Quiz; Molly Olly Wishes; Marie Curie Brain Game; St Mary’s Hospice 007 Charity Ball; Lord’s Taverners Christmas Lunch; Priory Hospital Charity Dinner; Stephen Hayden Charity Golf Day; Conductive Education Golf Day and Cure Leukaemia’s Christmas Ball.

“Onwards and upwards,” promised Ms Randell.

Nationwide Building Society will be relocating within Cannock to a location becoming increasingly popular with financial services firms.

CPBigwood, acting for the landlord, secured Nationwide as a tenant who beat off competition from a rival to move into No.1 Market Place.

Nearby occupiers include Yorkshire Bank and Lloyds Bank.

Market Place is adjacent to the main pedestrianised part of the town centre and benefits from a high footfall.

Steven Bott, CPBigwood commercial agent, said: “There are now numerous banks and building societies located near to each other there – it has become quite significant and good news for Cannock.

“Nationwide have taken a large two storey unit of 3,307 sq ft.”

Other outlets nearby include Thomson, Iceland, Poundland and W H Smith.

Stuart Rose, of SR Properties, was joint agent.

Nationwide were represented by Emel Hussein, of Colliers International.

A property specialist at Birmingham-based CPBigwood has been promoted to partner.

Karen Combellack, a manager in the Residential Service Charge Department, steps up from associate.

The firm manages approximately 20,000 flats and apartments across the country acting for investors, resident management companies, right to manage companies and plcs as well as developers and house builders.

Ms Combellack, a mother of two who started out as a secretary, joined Curry & Partners nine years ago – the firm merged with Bigwood in 2011 – from Pennycuick Collins.

She said: “I am thrilled – it is a great honour. Residential property management is a terrific career and has given me opportunities to progress up the ladder. CPBigwood is expanding fast and I am committed to helping the firm to continue this growth.”

Ms Combellack started out as secretary to the managing director of a firm of managing agents.

She left to raise her family and returning much later she decided to retrain in property management through a distance learning course created by Asset Skills, the Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA), the Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA), the Association of Retirement Housing Managers (ARHM), the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

That inspired her to continue training, and it has paid off.

Her work has involved the day-to-day management of a team of senior property managers, reporting directly to her on the management of their individual property portfolios.

Colleague and partner Brett Williams said: “Karen has continued to progress in her career due to her dedication and work with clients, customers and staff alike to ensure that our department constantly strives to provide a top class service for the buildings that we manage. I congratulate her and welcome her to the partnership. She is a tremendous asset.”

Major regional auction house CPBigwood has been appointed by Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council for a further two years.

CPBigwood senior partner Rory Daly said the firm had now been instructed by Sandwell for almost 20 consecutive years.

The win comes shortly after CPBigwood was involved in a competitive tender to win auction instructions from Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council.

Mr Daly said: “These two contracts confirm CPBigwood as the auction house of choice for institutions.

“We have also acted for Walsall and Wolverhampton for 15 years and we are clearly established as the default destination for land and property that is surplus to requirements by local authorities.”

He said that institutions, including local authorities, favoured the auction route to sale because of the finite timescale, near certainty of sale, the unconditional exchange of contracts and the predetermined completion dates.

CPBigwood has developed what is believed to be the largest auction operation outside of London over three decades which have seen successful auction houses Bond Wolfe Auctions and Bigwood merge before the enlarged operation was incorporated into CPBigwood when Bigwood and Curry & Partners merged in June 2011.

CPBigwood’s Rob Watts is celebrating being part of the RICS Matrics rugby team that won the recent National Surveyors Sevens.

They beat Jones Lang LaSalle after extra time in the final at Richmond Athletic Ground watched by a crowd of more than 4,000.

And the graduate surveyor picked up the player of the tournament award, having scored 12 tries in all.

The Sutton Coldfield RFC and Warwickshire 1st XV player said it had been an “amazing experience”.

He added: “Winning the tournament was fantastic because we stopped Jones Lang LaSalle getting a hat trick of victories and we played some great running rugby.

“Player of the tournament was the icing on the cake. It was a real honour – England legend Rob Andrew won it in 1991!”

Educated at Fairfax School, Sutton Coldfield, and Birmingham City University, he joined CPBigwood last year.

One of the UK’s fastest growing property consultancies has announced it is firmly on the acquisition trail.

CPBigwood, which was itself born of a merger between Bigwood and Curry & Partners in June 2011, is particularly seeking discussions with established property management and auction businesses.

CPBigwood is a top ten UK auction house and its residential service charge management business is also in the country’s top ten.

Senior partner Rory Daly said: “What is now known as CPBigwood has its roots as far back as 1854 and has grown to become one of the largest agencies offering the complete property service outside of the south east.

“We marked the industry’s card in 2012 with our decision to move into the East Midlands and also establish a foothold in London. Both decisions have paid off handsomely with our Leicestershire operation doubling its floorspace because of growth and instructions coming through strongly from London.

“As a business we have been growing steadily, despite the downturn, based on the cornerstones of property management and our burgeoning auction business – now the largest auction house outside of London.

“It is in these areas that we see potential to prompt discussions with acquisition targets,” he said.

He pointed out that many principals and senior partners, many of them founding partners of established businesses, were seeking an exit route as they considered retirement.

“We are in active discussion with a number of such businesses and we are optimistic about making our first announcement in the autumn,” he said.

“Our door is always open and it may be that a tapered succession plan is just the route to retirement that suits both parties.”

CPBigwood is the child of a lineage that stretches into the mid part of the 19th century with names like Edwards Son & Bigwood, Edwards Bigwood & Bewley, Collier Bigwood & Bewlay in the family tree.

Latterly names like Leeson Son & Hackett, Cecil Cariss & Son, Robert Martin & Associates, Thomas Pinson & Sons, Smith Balla and Peter Checkley & Co have been incorporated into the business.

“I think it is fair to say that we have a pedigree and a history of mergers and acquisitions, said Mr Daly.

Members of the fairer sex at property agent CPBigwood are set to show a clean pair of heels for charity later this month.

Charlotte Ford, Diana Van Aperen, Belinda Beasmore, Sadduf Ghaffar, Louise Kean and Michelle Cox will be running in Birmingham’s Race for Life on Sunday, July 21.

And it is a special occasion for Michelle as it is her birthday on the day of the run.

The five kilometre event, in aid of Cancer Research, goes ahead at Cannon Hill Park at 10am.

The squad, CPBigwood Ladies, is aiming to raise a significant amount.

Michelle said: “It is a terrific cause and a fun day.

“And hopefully it will be an excuse for a double celebration – completing the course and blowing out the candles!

“But, joking apart, we are looking to raise as much as we can towards combating this dreadful disease.”

They can be sponsored at http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/cpbigwood-ladies4.

A team from property agents CPBigwood (left to right) – Louise Kean, Sadduf Ghaffar, Belinda Beasmore, Michelle Cox, Diana Van Aperen and Charlotte Ford – celebrate completion of the Birmingham’s Race for Life event.

Louise led the way, running the five kilometres in a splendid 26 minutes.

But whether running, jogging or walking all finished the course around Birmingham’s Cannon Hill Park.

The squad hopes to have raised £500 in aid of Cancer Research.

Charlotte said: “The atmosphere was fantastic – we were all really proud to take part in such a worthy cause.”

And it was particularly memorable for Michelle as it was her birthday.

The East Midlands office of property agents CPBigwood is set to double in size less than a year after being launched.

The firm has agreed a deal to move into larger premises at its current location, Brooklyn House, 44 Brook Street, Shepshed, near Loughborough.

Brett Williams, CPBigwood’s partner in charge of residential management, who is overseeing the expansion, said: “We hit the ground running last October, have picked up new business and have quite a few current inquiries for new management instructions.

“We are very pleased at the way the office is developing and we are determined to drive it forward.

“Our aim is to become a major player in the East Midlands and we are on the right track. It is a growth area for us.”

Mr Williams said they were happy with the office’s reach, being “nicely in the middle of the Leicester, Derby, Nottingham triangle”.

“Previously we had three individual rooms in a shared building.

“We’re moving to a self-contained unit at the rear of the main building that will have six desk spaces with capacity for further growth.

“It’s effectively doubling the East Midlands presence in less than 12 months.”

CPBigwood launched the operation via the acquisition of Lloyd Property Management.

Originally a management buyout from estate agents Newton Fallowell around five years before, LPM had 1,200 units under management and, like its purchaser, was a member of the Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA).

It specialised in estate and block management for freeholders, developers and resident management companies as well as providing a residential lettings service.

Services include collection of service charges, collection of ground rents, service charge budgets, year end accounts and annual returns, the negotiation of service contracts, building insurance, reinstatement valuations, the implementation of planned maintenance programmes, site visits and inspections, liaison with residents, and attendance at management company and residents meetings.

“It has proved an excellent fit,” said Mr Williams.

“The offer was based on property management but we announced at the time that we expected the office to grow to encompass all CPBigwood areas including property agency and auctioneering. That remains the intention.

“We are looking to connect the West and East Midlands, helped by our wide-ranging contacts in the former. For example, we act for a lot of developers in the West Midlands who also have extensive East Midlands businesses.

“We see a lot of potential to develop in the East Midlands, particularly as the Government’s planning reforms and Funding for Lending scheme, coupled with the Bank of England’s determination to keep interest rates low, are producing a burgeoning housing market and building revival.”

CPBigwood have six offices – two in Birmingham at 45 Summer Row and 104-106 Colmore Row, Stratford-upon-Avon, Henley-in-Arden, Shepshed and London.

Partner Bill Drake-Lee, who lives in the East Midlands, will continue to use the Loughborough office as appropriate – he is also charged with growing CPBigwood’s presence in the London market.

The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust has taken 3,928 sq ft of office space in Wolverhampton city centre.

In a deal put together by property agents CPBigwood, the Trust has moved certain IT and administrative functions into part of St Johns House in St Johns Square. A three-year lease has been agreed.

Steven Bott, a member of the CPBigwood commercial agency team, said: “The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust is one of the leading acute and community trusts in the region – we were very pleased to be able to help them with their property needs.

“They employ thousands of staff, so naturally have many support roles which are crucial to keeping the medical side operating efficiently.”

St Johns House is in a prominent location overlooking Wolverhampton Ring Road, St Johns Retail Park and immediately opposite the grounds of St. Johns Church.

Mr Bott said: “The premises are in an established professional and commercial quarter of the city within walking distance of the main retail area, so it is well placed for staff to reach easily.

“Equally good links to the motorway network mean there is ready access.”

The three-storey St Johns House is home to a number of occupiers including British Mensa Ltd, various quasi Government organisations and Wolverhampton Primary Care Trust.

The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust provides a range of community, acute and specialist services for the people of Wolverhampton, the wider Black Country, South Staffordshire, North Worcestershire and Shropshire.

Property agents CPBigwood have taken on a further tranche of new recruits.

And the company is particularly striving to provide apprenticeship openings for young people.

There have now been 39 new employees since the highly successful merger of the former Bigwood and Curry & Partners in June 2011.

Joseph Scully was the first apprentice taken on and he is now in full time employment with the firm.

There are two others in the credit control team, Alison Scoble and Lee Breeze, one in the accounts department, Zafreen Merchant, while Jack O’Dell is a property administrative assistant in the residential department at the Stratford-upon-Avon office.

Typically apprentices spend an initial year with CPBigwood in a partnership with training provider Protocol Consultancy Services.

Other young professionals who have started in the last few months include Adam Jones and Gemma Sidaway, both residential service charge, and Emily Pickles, junior residential sales negotiator and James Carver, graduate surveyor commercial, both in Stratford.

Managing partner Nigel Curry said: “We recognise that young people and new ideas are the lifeblood of the business.

“We are expanding fast, having opened in London and the East Midlands, so it is vital that there is a ready flow of new blood coming through the system.

“We appreciate that as a caring and professional employer we have a responsibility to provide training and a structured career path which is why our apprenticeship system is so important.

“It hasn’t been going that long and is still a comparatively new experience for us. But it is working well and our intention is certainly to take others on in the future. They are already making an important contribution.”

Mr Curry said he appreciated how difficult it was for school leavers in particular to get a start in work.

“This is our contribution to giving a few that chance and if we can further increase numbers we will.”

Business is blooming at a Stratford-upon-Avon shopping complex.

Shrieves Walk, a parade of nine shops off Sheep Street, managed by property agents CPBigwood, has won a Stratford in Bloom accolade.

Runner up in the Large Business category, the firm took on the contract almost two years ago, its first with Midland property investors and developers Grevayne Properties.

Lora Titchen, property manager at CPBigwood, said: “We are really pleased. We have been working hard with the tenants to make the parade as customer friendly as we can.

“This will further boost its appeal and hopefully see it become even more attractive to tourists and locals alike.”

The units enjoy the advantage of being in close proximity to the town’s major theatres and riverside walks,.

The award was presented at a ceremony in Stratford’s Civic Hall.

The gardening contractor is Blenheim Nursery, a family-owned local company looking after the horticultural needs of many Stratford businesses.

CPBigwood manages a lot of similar retail developments.

Grevayne Properties, a vehicle of the Coombs family who have long played a major role in the business life of the Midlands, was established in 1972. It has its headquarters in Stratford and is now a multifaceted property company operating in the commercial, development and investment sectors.

Emily Pickles has returned to her home town of Stratford-upon-Avon to join the office of property agents CPBigwood as a junior negotiator.

The University of Nottingham graduate had previously been working in London, first in high end ski holiday sales and than as a sales coordinator for Chesterton Humberts in Fulham.

She said: “The ski side was great fun.

“With my background in property administration and experience with sales in the past, I am thrilled to bring the two together and work for a company like CPBigwood.”

In her spare time she is a talented artist having previously exhibited her work at Chelsea Arts Society. “I’m hoping to get my work into some local galleries soon.”

She added: “I also love all sports whether its teams sports – netball mostly – skiing or anything in the sea! My fondness for the outdoors and the local countryside lead to my decision to move back to Warwickshire.”

Tom Dennes, head of residential agency at CPBigwood, said: “It is great to have a talented and enthusiastic young person on board who already knows the ‘patch’.

“With her experience in sales and the property world I am sure she will prove a success.”

Stourbridge corporate recovery specialists Butcher Woods were the winners of the 2013 CPBigwood Annual Charity Golf Day, held for the 11th year at Edgbaston Golf Club, Birmingham.

CPBigwood senior partner welcomed guests at the prize giving dinner and praised the generousity of the 21 teams that played and enabled them to raise £2,500 for Midlands Air Ambulance, the charity chosen by tradition by the winning team.

He said that over the event’s 11 year history, over £40,000 had been raised and distributed to Midlands charities.

Picture by John James.

A third generation of the Carver family is following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather in the chartered surveying profession in the Midlands.

James Carver has joined the Stratford-upon-Avon office of CPBigwood as a graduate surveyor.

He specialises on the commercial side and is currently involved in agency and valuation work.

A graduate of Oxford Brookes University, he worked as a property manager for charity Oxfam prior to taking up his current post.

He said: “I am very pleased to have joined such a go-ahead, expanding and ambitious firm as CPBigwood.

“My father Anthony has been a chartered surveyor and valuer all his working life so it was something I was exposed to early on and decided it was the profession I too wanted to be part of.”

Anthony Carver followed his father Leonard, both a surveyor and auctioneer, and is currently in the process of retiring from Leonard Carver & Son based in Cannon Street in Birmingham and passing his clients over to CPBigwood.

His business became part of the Dixons estate agency group before Mr Carver decided to go on his own once more.

Simon Gibbs, CPBigwood partner and head of the firm’s Stratford-upon-Avon and Henley-in-Arden offices, said: “Anthony Carver is a highly respected member of the profession and the fact that he has chosen CPBigwood to look after his portfolio of clients is a huge vote of confidence, and I am delighted that we have been able to win this business.

“James is a chip off the old block and has hit the ground running. I feel sure he will become a major asset to the company.”

Commercial property landlords are being urged to tackle any rent arrears issues ahead of new legislation coming into force from April 1.

Michelle Bonning, credit control manager at property group CPBigwood, warned that left unchecked it would likely prove much harder to recoup what was owed.

She warned: “They need to act now and sort their situation out especially if it involves unpaid service charge or insurance bills.

“Otherwise the revenues could be lost – it is as stark as that.”

Part of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act, the big change is the abolition of the ability to distrain for unpaid rents – a Common Law remedy for landlords of commercial property allowing them to seize assets belonging to the tenant to sell so as to recover rent arrears.

The landlord does not need any court order to do so once the rent has become overdue albeit some items are exempt from seizure including those belonging to third parties and on hire purchase agreements, tools of the trade and perishables.

The system is being replaced by CRAR – Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery.

If the landlord wants to use CRAR, he will have to give the tenant seven days notice of enforcement.

Once notice has been served, the tenant may apply to court for a set aside or delay of execution.

There will have to be a written lease in place to use CRAR.

And items not directly attributable to the tenant’s possession and use of the premises, such as services charges, will not be recoverable.

Unlike under distraint, only certificated bailiffs will be able to seize goods, not the landlord.

“If you have arrears of rent, now is the time to address the matters,” said Ms Bonning. “And that is particularly pertinent if the arrears largely consist of service charges and insurance.

“Landlords will be concerned that tenants will use the notice period to dispose of the goods or stock that might be recovered or to remove them from the premises. Tenants might also use the interval to commence the insolvency process.

“Tenants will be happy at the shake-up but landlords may well be hit in the pocket.”

CPBigwood has seven offices in Birmingham, Stratford-upon-Avon, Henley-in-Arden, Shepshed, Eastleigh in Hampshire, and London.