Menu
Carnival UK, the parent company for P&O Cruises and Cunard, occupy Carnival House as their UK headquarters. Carnival UK are a significant investor to the local Southampton economy, employing over 1,200 people – the majority of whom are from the Hampshire area – and operate from the Port of Southampton.
It was imperative to achieve good terms for Carnival in their rent review for the premises in order to give their occupation in Southampton longevity.
Realest was instructed by Carnival UK to act on their behalf in their forthcoming rent review for their 148,240 ft2 Southampton headquarters, Carnival House.
The premises is owned by insurance and investment services company, Aviva’s Lime Fund.
Our aim was to settle the rent review on advantageous terms and potentially create shared value.
We recognised that the fund that owned the building needed long term commitment and, ideally, rental growth.
We approached Aviva’s Lime Fund on our client’s behalf to explore the potential for a lease restructure.
We worked with our client to develop the restructure opportunities and entered into negotiations with Aviva’s Lime Fund on Carnival’s behalf. We received offers to extend the lease, settle the rent review and amend the existing rent.
We worked with our client to analyse the appropriate options before agreeing formal terms with Aviva’s Lime Fund. We liaised with our client’s lawyer, Womble Bond Dickinson (Tim Burbidge) to completion.
The restructure of the lease has guaranteed Carnival’s occupation in Southampton until 2038.
Realest prides itself on its Director-led style. A combination of our expertise as well as existing relationship with Aviva’s Lime Fund enabled us to approach the landlord and sensibly discuss workable options.
By understanding and matching the landlord and tenant respective objectives, we were able to negotiate a substantial (circa 25%) reduction in rent and formally agreed future rent reviews on an indexed basis.
The outcome has been both a success for Carnival in creating significant savings and for the landlord in extending our client’s occupation, thus creating value for the fund. In addition, it is very good news for the city of Southampton and the local economy.
Realest – David Ferriman
Carnival – Lee Kirby, Laura Robey
Legal – Tim Burbidge – Womble Bond Dickinson
Carnival UK
Lease Restructure, Consultancy Advice
Lease Advisory
Travel
I am delighted that Carnival House will remain our base for the foreseeable future. We partnered with two local companies to achieve this extension to our lease and I would like to thank Womble Bond Dickinson and also David Ferriman from Realest who worked hard on our behalf.
With a fleet of ten ships, the majority of which home port in Southampton throughout the year and three new ships on order to arrive by 2022 we continue to invest in the city, the port and its infrastructure to secure our long term future.
It is very important to us that the majority of our workforce are from the local area and that we, our staff and their families feel part of the local community.
Each time a ship comes into Southampton it brings £2million to the area and we have around 180 turnarounds next year. Also, local provenance is a high priority and we use many Hampshire and Dorset suppliers of quality food products and services across our ships.
Our association with Southampton is a vital one and I am delighted that we have secured our place here for the next two decades.
Property Marketing Specialists