Specialised Services

Supported by our wealth of experience in the property industry our expertise enables us to offer a whole range of specialised accounting services in relation to property management.

Car Parks

As a leading provider of service charge reviews for shopping centres, we have gained wide experience in the processes and operation of car parks. This has enabled Websters to provide the following services:

Income and expenditure review which includes evaluation of the cash handling procedures, testing collections to the cash book and review of bank reconciliations as well as 100% testing of expenditure.

Expenditure review where we carry out our standard 100% testing of expenditure but where any income reported in the accounts is noted as outside the scope of our report.

Car Parks.

Marketing

For many shopping centres, a budget for marketing costs is set aside separate to the service charge to be apportioned between the landlord and the service charge fund on a pre-agreed basis.

We carry out many Independent Accountants’ Reviews of these marketing expenditure statements offering assurance to both the landlord and occupiers that all marketing expenditure has been reasonably incurred and apportioned between the service charge fund and the landlord on the contracted or established basis.

Marketing.

Commercialisation

Landlords are capable of generating revenues from shopping centres in many other ways than from the charging of rent to the occupiers. Examples of this income are from Retail Merchandising Units (“RMUs”) and kiosk licences, vending machines, advertising billboards etc. This commercialisation income can also be referred to as Non-Rental Revenue.

This income can be apportioned between the landlord and the service charge fund on a pre-agreed basis. We carry out many Independent Accountants’ Reviews of commercialisation income and expenditure accounts offering assurance to both the landlord and occupiers that all commercialisation income and expenditure has been reasonably apportioned between the service charge fund and the landlord on the contracted or established basis.

Commercialisation.

Head Rent

A landlord (of a shopping centre, for example) may also be a tenant of a head lease from the freeholder of the property. Under that head lease there will be a mechanism for the freeholder to charge rent based on a formula applied to the net revenue generated by the intermediate landlord. There will be a requirement within the head lease for the intermediate landlord to report their annual net income to the freeholder to enable them to assess the correct level of rent due.

At Websters, we have a specialism in preparing and reviewing such statements of net income for a number of our clients. Our standard programme for Head Rent Reviews includes a detailed head lease review as well as 100% testing of all deductible costs.

Head Rent.

Trust Tax

Under the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985, all residential service charge funds are held by the landlord in trust for the tenants. Therefore a trust is created for tax purposes and any income earned aside from service charges receivable (as this is shared mutually) are taxable at the prevailing rate for the relevant tax year.

We assist in the preparation of self-assessment trust tax returns and are responsible for all compliance and correspondence with HM Revenue & Customs as well as advising on settlement of any tax liabilities.

Trust Tax.