Indian Country: Franchising's Latest Frontier
January 28, 2005
Is your franchise looking to penetrate new or emerging domestic markets? If so, your company should consider franchising in Indian Country. The $18-billion Indian gaming industry is rapidly transforming the face of tribal lands and drawing <i>millions</i> of people to the reservation for business, employment, or recreation. It is that enormous influx of people onto tribal land ' a "captive audience" of reservation consumers ' and a relaxed regulatory environment that make Indian Country ripe for franchising.
Valuing Like Kind Exchanges: Is It Too Good to Be True?
January 28, 2005
How would you as a lessor like to increase your after tax income by millions of dollars? How would you as lessor like to increase spreads by 30 basis points? Would you like to do this without having to cut costs or take the risk of creating a new product, entering a new market and hiring lots of staff? The answer to these questions of course is "yes," and it sounds too good to be true as the way to get there is to use a gift from the IRS ' implement a Like Kind Exchange ("LKE") program in your leasing business.
In The Marketplace
January 28, 2005
Highlights of the latest equipment leasing news from around the country.
Mutual Waiver and Waiver of Subrogation Provisions in Commercial Leases
January 27, 2005
In commercial leases, the mutual waiver of claims for damage to property and its corollary, the waiver of subrogation by property insurers, continue to be the source of substantial confusion. Much of the confusion appears to spring from a lack of understanding of just what the waivers are intended to achieve and how they achieve it. The hypothetical below and the discussion that follows examine the rationale for these waivers, how they work and how certain other standard lease provisions should be brought into conformity with them.
The Leasing Hotline
January 27, 2005
Highlights of the latest commercial leasing cases from around the country.
How Smart Tenants Lease Brownfields
January 27, 2005
Increasingly today more prime locations for tenants are situated on land that was previously used for industrial or commercial uses and now has real or perceived environmental contamination. As these often called "brownfield" sites are redeveloped, they become attractive locations for leased space. These sites can be in urban centers where available space for development is scarce. The location can be convenient for a developed market of customers which a tenant can capture from absent competitors. Where once a tenant might not consider an investment in such a tainted location, now a tenant must avoid the temptation to overlook the risks. These risks do not apply only to industrial tenants or ground lessees. How a tenant evaluates and manages the risk will determine if a lease of brownfield property is a smart decision.
In the Spotlight: Negotiating Relocation Provisions
January 27, 2005
Relocation provisions, particularly in retail leases, often spark heated negotiations between the parties. The landlord wants to preserve flexibility to reconfigure its shopping center and/or accommodate the needs of prospective tenants. Relocating can cause uncertainty, disruption and significant hardship for tenants, especially for retail business tenants that highly value location and visibility.
The Devil in the Details
January 25, 2005
Last month, we discussed the fact that in theory, a borrower's issuance of junior secured debt is a boon for its senior secured lender. In practice, however, we pointed out that a senior secured lender should view proposed junior secured financing skeptically because the existence of such debt can become highly problematic for the senior lender. In Part Two, we continue our discussion, which focuses on additional elements and negotiating points that an inter-creditor agreement should contain.
Equipment Leasing as a Current Financing Strategy for Middle Market Companies
January 03, 2005
Equipment leasing remains a viable tool for middle market companies in today's environment. The Equipment Leasing Association of America (the "ELA") estimates that of the $668 billion spent by U.S. business on productive assets in 2003, $208 billion, or 31.1%, was acquired through leasing, and for 2004 the ELA projects that leasing activity will grow to $218 billion, or 30.7 cents of every dollar American businesses will invest in equipment.
