Commercial Tennancy in England
My business occupies space on the land owned by one of our Shareholders’ pension fund. He is also occupying the rest of the area with his own business (much Larger than mine) and has recently sold out to a larger concern. My business was not part of that deal and subsequently I’ve been given verbal notice to quit. I’m a manufacturer and employ local people (3). I’ve been on site for over 10 years. We have a bespoke business that has some value to our client base. There is, however, no lease agreement as at the time, we probably all thought we would remain on site together until retirement and the subject was never discussed. This was my first business and i was not aware of the implications of having no written agreement. Now we face eviction and I know the costs of transfer would be around £10,000 – £15,000 which would force us to close with all the problems that would bring. I’m very concerned about the future and wonder if we can be simply thrown out whenever it suits. I am still friendly with the principals but clearly wish to defend my position and seek full repairation/compensation to cover the enforced move. Have I and my business any rights in this instance?