Commercial lease viability check
Commercial lease viability check
A commercial lease viability check pressure-tests whether a site can carry the rent after expected revenue, operating costs, opening cash, and weaker early trading are considered.
It is built for people who need to know whether a cafe, restaurant, salon, shop, or other small commercial unit deserves a deeper look before they sign heads of terms.
It also helps when the real question is whether a cafe, restaurant, shop, takeaway, salon, barber shop, or other commercial site can carry the rent once covers, orders, appointments, footfall, and opening cash are tested.
If you enter a postcode or address, the check also keeps local evidence prompts in view, such as comparable rent evidence, business rates, service charge, EPC, and building-condition assumptions.
What the check covers
Rent burden
Shows how much expected revenue is absorbed by rent before the rest of the cost base is paid.
Break-even customers or sales level
Turns the lease into a daily trading target the operator can actually judge.
Monthly cost base
Pulls staff, rates, utilities, insurance, stock, and other known costs into the decision.
Opening cash and fit-out pressure
Shows whether deposits, fit-out, legal fees, and launch costs leave enough cash to trade.
Downside trading
Checks what happens if revenue starts slower or stays weaker than expected.
Six-month survival and lease questions
Tests whether the opening cash buffer and lease terms leave enough room to survive a weak start.
Quick answer
A commercial lease is more viable when the numbers and the lease terms still work together.
The free check helps pressure-test rent burden, opening cash, break-even pressure, and downside trading before the lease gets expensive to unwind.
YieldLens helps organise the assumptions behind the rent, rather than treating the headline rent in isolation. That makes it easier to compare the site with the trading plan, the opening cash stack, and the lease questions that could change the downside.
| Check | Why it matters | Where YieldLens helps |
|---|---|---|
| Rent burden | Shows how much revenue rent absorbs before the rest of the cost base is paid. | Free check and Standard Commercial Viability File |
| Break-even pressure | Turns the lease into a trading target the operator can test against realistic demand. | Free check and viability memo |
| Opening cash | Shows whether deposits, fit-out, fees, and opening stock leave enough buffer to trade. | Free check and paid file |
| Downside trading | Checks whether the site survives weaker revenue instead of only the base case. | Free check and viability memo |
| Lease questions | Break clause, lease length, repair obligations, and permitted use can change the result. | Checklist hub and paid file |
| Evidence checklist | Comparable rents, costs, and trading evidence help show whether the assumptions are grounded. | Checklist hub and Standard file |
Why it matters
A market rent can still be commercially difficult.
A rent can look reasonable against other units but still be hard for a cafe, salon, restaurant, or retailer if fit-out, staffing, deposit, service charge, stock, utilities, and slow opening trade absorb the cash buffer.
Cafe
A cafe can have healthy footfall and still be fragile if morning staffing, equipment, waste, and slow afternoons leave little room for rent.
Restaurant
Covers, kitchen fit-out, extraction, and rota pressure can make rent harder to carry than the headline market rent suggests.
Salon
Chair utilisation, booking ramp-up, and treatment-room productivity can determine whether the lease is manageable or too tight.
The key checks
What a lease viability check should test
The check should answer the questions that matter before the lease becomes expensive to unwind.
Rent burden
Shows how much expected revenue is absorbed by rent before the rest of the cost base is paid.
Break-even customers or sales level
Turns the lease into a daily trading target the operator can actually judge.
Monthly cost base
Pulls staff, rates, utilities, insurance, stock, and other known costs into the decision.
Opening cash and fit-out pressure
Shows whether deposits, fit-out, legal fees, and launch costs leave enough cash to trade.
Downside trading
Checks what happens if revenue starts slower or stays weaker than expected.
Six-month survival and lease questions
Tests whether the opening cash buffer and lease terms leave enough room to survive a weak start.
The gap
A commercial lease can look normal and still be too heavy.
The issue is not only the rent level. It is whether the opening cash stack and the first months of trading can survive the pressure the lease creates.
- Break-even customers can be reasonable on paper but too demanding in the real world.
- A site can look busy and still be fragile if staff, rates, utilities, or stock are underestimated.
- Deposit, fit-out, and setup spend can drain the cash that a weak start would need.
- The lease needs to survive slower trading, not only best-case assumptions.
What to verify before signing
- Comparable commercial rents
- Service charge
- Business rates
- Fit-out quotes
- Deposit terms
- Rent-free period
- Landlord contribution
- Lease length
- Break clause
- Repair obligations
- Personal guarantees
- Permitted use
- Licensing or planning where relevant
- Realistic revenue evidence
What YieldLens does
The free check gives a fast viability snapshot.
The £49 Standard Commercial Viability File turns the result into a structured decision memo with stress-test interpretation, negotiation levers, evidence checklist, and lease questions.
Free check
- Rent burden, break-even customers, opening cash, downside trading, and six-month survival.
- A quick view of the headline pressure points before you commit.
- Helpful when the question is whether the site deserves deeper work.
£49 Standard Commercial Viability File
- Stress-test interpretation, negotiation levers, evidence checklist, and lease questions.
- A printable commercial decision memo tied to the saved result.
- Useful when the numbers need to be turned into a decision path before signing.
Checklist
Questions the site should answer before you sign.
These are the questions a commercial viability file should force into the open before you spend serious money or negotiation effort.
- Comparable commercial rents
- Service charge
- Business rates
- Fit-out quotes
- Deposit terms
- Rent-free period
- Landlord contribution
- Lease length
- Break clause
- Repair obligations
- Personal guarantees
- Permitted use
- Licensing or planning where relevant
- Realistic revenue evidence
Worked example
Example: 40-cover cafe lease
This illustrative example shows how YieldLens pressure-tests a cafe unit before signing. It is not a real property assessment.
Why the verdict needs caution
The downside case does not show monthly burn, but the site still looks fragile because only £9,000 is left after opening costs. That is the kind of issue a basic rent calculator misses.
Verdict
Needs caution
Passes the downside case, but the opening cash buffer is thin.
Rent burden
20.0%
£5,000 rent against £24,960 estimated monthly revenue.
Break-even/day
45.2
Customers per day needed to cover the known monthly cost base.
Six-month test
Pass
No downside monthly burn, but opening cash still matters.
Trading assumptions
Location
South London cafe unit
Annual rent
£60,000
Monthly rent
£5,000
Average spend
£12
Expected customers/day
80
Opening days/month
26
Estimated monthly revenue
£24,960
Staff, utilities, rates, rent
£14,100 total cost base
What this makes you ask
Can the landlord support a rent-free period or contribution?
Is the service charge capped or still an estimate?
What evidence supports the expected footfall and spend?
What happens if opening is delayed or fit-out changes?
Opening cash
Fit-out
£50,000
Rent deposit
£15,000
Legal fees
£3,000
Opening stock
£8,000
Other setup costs
£5,000
Upfront cash needed
£81,000
Starting cash
£90,000
Cash after opening
£9,000
Downside case
Downside case
60% of expected revenue
Downside revenue
£14,976
Downside monthly position
£876 surplus
Survival runway
No monthly burn in downside case
Sample diagnostic note
Pass, but the opening cash buffer is thin. The assumptions need evidence before signing.
What YieldLens does
The free check gives a fast viability snapshot.
The £49 Standard Commercial Viability File turns the result into a structured decision memo with stress-test interpretation, negotiation levers, evidence checklist, and lease questions.
Free check
- Rent burden, break-even customers, opening cash, downside trading, and six-month survival.
- A quick view of the headline pressure points before you commit.
- Useful when the question is whether the site deserves deeper work.
£49 Standard Commercial Viability File
- Stress-test interpretation, negotiation levers, evidence checklist, and lease questions.
- A printable commercial decision memo tied to the saved result.
- Useful when the numbers need to become a decision path before signing.
Business-type rent checks
Use the page that matches the unit type.
The commercial viability page sits alongside the business-type affordability checks.
What to verify before signing
- Comparable commercial rents
- Service charge
- Business rates
- Fit-out quotes
- Deposit terms
- Rent-free period
- Landlord contribution
- Assignment and subletting
- Break clause
- Repair obligations
- Permitted use
- Licensing or planning where relevant
- Realistic revenue evidence
Lease points to check alongside viability
Start with the commercial lease checklist before signing hub, then check costs, heads of terms, rent review, break clause, and lease length before you rely on the viability result.
Compare two sites
Compare two possible premises side by side before spending on deeper checks.
Commercial lease checklist before signing
Start with the central hub if you are still choosing which lease question to check first.
Commercial lease costs before signing
Check the full cost stack before you commit to the lease.
Commercial rent review before signing
Check whether future rent increases could tighten the lease later.
Commercial break clause before signing
Check whether exit flexibility reduces the downside if trading weakens.
Commercial lease length before signing
Check whether the commitment period matches the trading plan.
How much rent can a shop afford
Use this when the site is a shop or retail unit and the question is whether the rent can be carried.
How much rent can a takeaway afford
Use this when delivery demand, extraction, and order volume drive the lease decision.
How to use the result
Use the viability view to prepare the next conversation.
The result is a prompt to gather evidence and ask better questions, not a final decision on its own.
Frequently asked questions
Commercial lease viability FAQs
Practical answers for operators checking whether a site can carry the lease before they sign.
What is a commercial lease viability check?
A commercial lease viability check is an indicative pressure test of whether a site can support its rent, opening costs, and trading costs. It looks at rent burden, revenue, break-even customers, opening cash, downside trading, and survival runway.
Is this advice or a valuation?
YieldLens UK provides indicative decision-support only. It is not financial advice, legal advice, tax advice, a valuation, or a substitute for professional due diligence.
Why does rent burden matter?
Rent burden shows how much of expected revenue is absorbed by rent. If rent takes too much of revenue, the business has less room for staff, rates, utilities, insurance, stock, tax, and quieter trading periods.
Why calculate break-even customers per day?
Break-even customers per day translates fixed costs into a practical trading target. It helps show whether the site needs realistic footfall or very strong assumptions just to cover the lease and cost base.
What is the six-month survival test?
The six-month survival test checks whether the site has enough cash after opening to withstand a weak trading period. A site only passes if opening costs are funded and the downside case either covers monthly costs or has enough runway for six weak months.
Why include upfront cash?
A site can look workable month to month but still be fragile if fit-out, rent deposit, legal fees, opening stock, and setup costs use too much cash before trading starts.
Can this be used before heads of terms?
Yes. The check is most useful before you commit to legal work, fit-out planning, or full lease negotiations. It helps decide whether the site deserves deeper investigation.
Why the file exists
A fast snapshot is useful, but the lease needs a decision memo.
The free check gives the headline viability view. The £49 Standard Commercial Viability File turns that result into stress-test interpretation, negotiation levers, evidence questions, and a printable memo you can use before signing.
Standard commercial viability file
£49
The paid file is tied to the saved commercial result and can be opened, printed, or saved as PDF after checkout.
Important disclaimer
YieldLens UK provides indicative decision-support only. It is not financial advice, legal advice, tax advice, a valuation, a RICS valuation, or a substitute for professional due diligence.
Next step
Run the free commercial check before you sign the lease.
Enter the rent, trading assumptions, known costs, upfront cash items, starting cash, and downside revenue. YieldLens UK will return the headline viability score, rent burden, break-even customers, risk flags, and six-month survival view.
The full check saves a property-specific result and can be used to request a fuller viability file.