Commercial Property Standard Enquiries (CPSEs) meaning

This Checklist offers a series of prompts that may help in assessing the tax consequences of an asset sale. It should be read together with Practice Note: Key tax considerations in an asset sale. For further detail on pre-contract enquiries, see also Practice Notes: Capital allowances on property sales—pre-contract enquiries and Commercial Property Standard Enquiries—CPSE (the CPSEs, compiled by members of the London Property Support Lawyers Group and endorsed by the British Property Federation, set out standard questions relevant to a sale of commercial real estate)... Key tax considerations in an asset sale General questions What is the status of the parties: companies, individuals or other entities, for example a partnership, trust or charity? Are there multiple sellers? Are there multiple buyers? Does the seller hold both legal and beneficial ownership of the assets? On actual completion, will the buyer obtain legal and beneficial ownership of the assets? Are the parties connected with one another for tax purposes? If...

This Practice Note explores the function of enquiries within the due diligence process and how to deal with preliminary enquiries in commercial property transactions. What are enquiries before contract? Enquiries before contract (also known as pre-contract enquiries, preliminary enquiries or standard enquiries) feature in a range of situations, for example: a buyer investigating the purchase of freehold or leasehold land; a tenant making checks before a new lease is granted; a mortgagee conducting checks before taking a charge over land; a landlord considering acceptance of a lease surrender. For ease, references here to ‘seller’ and ‘buyer’ are used, which should be read as including landlord and tenant, or mortgagor and mortgagee where appropriate. These enquiries take the form of the buyer’s questions to the seller, almost always channelled through their respective legal advisers acting as intermediaries. Although frequently treated as a discrete strand of due diligence, they overlap with title investigation, searches and contract negotiation. It...

This Practice Note includes a link to our template replies to the various sets of Commercial Property Standard Enquiries (commonly called the CPSEs or, individually, CPSE1, CPSE2, CPSE3, CPSE4, CPSE5, CPSE6 and CPSE7). The CPSEs are industry-standard pre-contract enquiries for commercial property transactions, and the seller is responsible for addressing them in full. These template replies set out a framework of potential responses and are intended to make the seller’s task of replying easier and more efficient. Template replies to CPSEs 1 to 7 The Commercial Property Standard Enquiries (CPSEs) are a suite of documents prepared by members of the London Property Support Lawyers Group (LPSLG) and endorsed by the British Property Federation too...

This Practice Note reviews the Commercial Property Standard Enquiries (CPSEs) and the Solicitor’s Completion Requirements (SCRs), and sets them in context. It covers: direct links to the CPSEs and the SCRs themselves a concise overview of how and when CPSEs are used in a transaction links to template replies to CPSE 1 to CPSE 7, and a draft covering letter to the seller enclosing those replies guidance on the principal issues arising under CPSE 1, with links to related materials It also signposts related content. For guidance on the standard residential pre-contract enquiries, see Practice Note: Residential property—enquiries before contract. Background to the CPSEs and SCRs The CPSEs and the SCRs are a set of documents produced by members of the Property Support Lawyers Group and endorsed by the British Property Federation. The CPSEs provide enquiries before contract for common transactions, alongside the SCRs. They are the predominant enquiries used in commercial property. CPSE 1 (or its...