Lease of commercial premises – option to purchase freehold – interpretation – valid exercise of option – drafting issues – implied terms – correction by construction


Helix 3D Ltd v Dunedin Industrial Property Nominee Ltd and another [2016] EWHC 3012 (Ch) (Andrew Simmonds QC Sitting as a deputy judge of the High Court) (1 December 2016)


This interesting case concerns a lease of commercial premises and the correct interpretation of a side arrangement whereby the landlord granted the tenant an option to purchase the freehold interest. The tenant sought to exercise the option and the landlord argued it had not done so correctly. The five-year option period was now spent, so if the landlord was right it was no longer open to the tenant to exercise the option. As ever on these cases the difficulty came about to due to inept or defective drafting of the terms of the option.