MODEL / 06 · Illustrative engagement model
Commercial leasing mandate, Mumbai office asset
A letting mandate on a Mumbai office asset. The commercial discipline is to optimise for rent actually received across the term — which frequently means accepting a lower headline rent from a stronger covenant on a longer lease rather than a higher rent from an uncertain tenant.
- Asset class
- Grade A / B office
- Mandate
- Landlord letting mandate
- Typical scale
- 50,000 – 400,000 sq ft
- Typical duration
- 12–30 months
This is an engagement model, not a client case study. It describes how this type of mandate is structured and what it is measured on. No client, project or outcome is represented.
The situation
What this kind of mandate starts from.
- Headline rent is a poor comparison basis once loading factor, CAM, incentives and fit-out contribution are accounted for.
- Void periods are expensive and are frequently under-counted against the rent being held out for.
- Occupier decisions turn on total occupancy cost per usable area, which reorders shortlists set on headline rent.
- Covenant strength determines whether the agreed rent is actually received in year three.
- Flexibility provisions — break options, expansion rights — are priced terms that occupiers will pay for.
The approach
How it is run.
- 01
Position the asset against transacted evidence
Benchmark rents, incentives and terms actually transacted in the micro-market rather than quoted, and set a letting strategy against a defined target occupier profile.
- 02
Model the trade-offs explicitly
Covenant strength against rent, term length against flexibility, and incentive cost against void cost — so the landlord decides on modelled outcomes rather than on headline numbers.
- 03
Negotiate the whole term sheet
Escalation, lock-in, CAM treatment, fit-out contribution, deposit and handover condition, alongside the landlord's counsel.
- 04
Coordinate handover and fit-out
Handover condition verification, fit-out timeline coordination and snag resolution before occupation, so the lease commences cleanly.
Measurement
What the mandate is measured on.
The metrics and cadence — not claimed results.
Effective rent over term
Modelled
Net of incentives, rent-free periods and fit-out contribution — not the headline figure.
Void days
Reported monthly
Counted explicitly against the rent level being held out for.
Weighted average lease term
Reported
With covenant quality assessed, since term is only worth the tenant behind it.
Total occupancy cost benchmark
Benchmarked
Per usable square foot, against transacted comparables in the micro-market.
Landlords systematically under-count void cost against the rent they are holding out for. Making that comparison explicit usually changes the decision, and almost always shortens the letting cycle.
The lesson this model is built on
Capabilities in this model
- Commercial LeasingLandlord letting strategy and tenant representation — lease economics, not just space.
- Retail & Mixed-Use AdvisoryCatchment, tenant mix and anchor strategy — plus the ground-plane design decisions that determine whether retail trades.
- Property StrategyThe option appraisal that comes before commitment: hold, develop, monetise, partner or wait — argued on evidence.
- Market IntelligenceMicro-market evidence — absorption, registered transactions, supply pipeline, pricing — scored on a consistent framework.
- Transaction ManagementCoordination of diligence, conditions, advisers and documentation so a signed deal actually completes.
The first decision
Let's start before the building.
Send us the site, the scheme or the stalled inventory. We will tell you what we think — including when the answer is not to proceed.