Commercial Property at Scots Law 2026

We are delighted to be returning to the Hilton Glasgow* for the first in our Scots Law 2026 Conference Series, exclusively available to delegates in person on the day.

Our new conference, chaired by David Steel of Harper MacLeod, will consider the latest developments in a number of key practice areas such as repairs and dilapidations, service change and tax as well as looking at problematic drafting issues, sub-leases and what is currently resulting in professional indemnity claims.

David will be joined by a panel of experts including Alan McMillan of Burness Paull, Caroline Summers from Harper MacLeod, David Bartos of Arnot Manderson Advocates, Alan Eadie & Lynne Cardow of DAC Beachcroft, Amir Ismail from Holmes Mackillop, Lisa Conway & Martin Beal of the Mining Remediation Authority and Bob Langridge from Brodies.

What's being covered?

Dilapidations claims – current implications for drafting repairing obligations

This session will consider the practical aspects of dilapidations claims in the current marketplace, considering whether and to what extent drafting repairing obligations affects this, or should be affected.  It will also consider landlord-friendly clauses and tenant-friendly clauses including “payment” clauses, variants of that, and repairing obligations qualified by schedule of conditions.

Alan McMillan, Burness Paull

Service charge update

In this session Caroline will take a comprehensive look at current service charge issues from general concepts and the types of leases and common parts encountered to the key commercial considerations at play.

Caroline Summers Harper MacLeod

Common drafting errors in commercial leases – and how to avoid them!

Drafting has, and always will be, an essential tool in any solicitor involved in commercial leasing.  The assistance offered by the Property Standardisation Group templates has cut down the amount of drafting required, but in many ways the minimising of drafting means many practitioners still get the essential elements wrong.  This seminar will look at where the pitfalls of drafting commercial leases are, and will guide you through the correct way to minimise, if not eradicate completely, the most common drafting errors.  The difficulty with drafting errors is that they will come back to haunt you when you least expect it – eg a rent review, a break option, or an investment sale of the property (with a purchaser being unhappy with the Lease) and blaming you!

Amir Ismail, Holmes Mackillop

Property problems and how to solve them

In this session, Alan and Lynne will draw on their combined experience as panel solicitors for the Master Policy Scheme to identify some of the issues which regularly trip up the unwary commercial property lawyer, to offer some risk management tips on how to avoid a professional negligence claim arising and to provide practical guidance on some lines of defence that may be available to anyone unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of one.

Alan Eadie & Lynne Cardow, DAC Beachcroft

From Mine Plans to Masterplans: choosing the right report for commercial property and sites for development

This session is designed for professionals who are handling commercial property transactions and sites for development in former coalfield areas. The Mining Remediation Authority has been responsible for managing coal mining legacy since 1994, with a clear mission to protect people, property, and the environment in former coalfield areas. In this session, Lisa Conway and Martin Beal will explore the key differences between a Non Residential CON29M and Consultants Report. Using practical examples, they will demonstrate how each report supports confident, well-informed decisions. By the end of the session, delegates will have a clear understanding of which report is required and how this protects both their clients’ interests and their professional reputation.

Lisa Conway & Martin Beal, Mining Remediation Authority

Sub-leases: leases with a twist

What is a sub-lease, how it is created, the capacity to grant a sub-lease, ending a sub-lease and issues in negotiation will all be considered in this practical session.

David Bartos, Arnot Manderson, Advocates

Property tax updates

In this session Bob will look at those aspects of LBTT, the Construction Industry Scheme and VAT of most relevance to real estate transactions.

Bob Langridge, Brodies

*A reduced parking rate of £10 per car is available onsite at the hotel. A code will be issued during the conference which can be entered into the pay station when paying before leaving the car park.

This conference is proudly sponsored by First Scottish