What we can personalise on, the value proposition, the call to action, and the three emails that will go to commercial property owners across England. Validate each section directly in this document.
We took ten real commercial property owners in England, looked for what public sources say about their empty space, and built the sequence around the Court of Appeal ruling of 29 July that has just changed what counts as occupation. Everything you read here is sourced. Nothing is invented.
This document sets out how we understand your offer, the prospects we looked at, the signals we can personalise on, the call to action and the three emails. Your wording corrections are applied throughout.
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02 / The prospects we looked at
10 owners, checked one by one
These are real commercial property owners in England, found and documented entirely from public sources, the same way we will build the full list. They run from the best documented case down to one where we deliberately found nothing.
Click any owner to see what we found and where it came from. This is exactly what feeds the personalised lines in the emails.
1
Regional REIT
Stephen Inglis · CEO of the asset manager (London & Scottish Property Investment Management)
Listed REIT holding regional offices and light industrial across England, portfolio valued at 555m pounds.
REIT: kept on the list, ranked below private owners on your instruction
What they own
Regional office and light industrial assets across England, asset managed by London & Scottish Property Investment Management.
Why they are a target
Occupancy is published twice a year, empty space sits at portfolio scale, and the demand lands on the owner.
Evidence of empty space
EPRA occupancy ended 2025 at 75.9%, down on the year, attributed to lease breaks and disposals. Source: 2025 full year results.
Where and how big
England, 555m pounds portfolio
2
CLS Holdings plc
Fredrik Widlund · Chief Executive Officer
Listed property company, offices in London and the South East.
A building we can name, and the month it emptied
What they own
Office buildings across London and the South East, held long term and actively refurbished.
Why they are a target
A whole building emptying at once is the moment the empty rates demand becomes impossible to ignore.
Evidence of empty space
UK vacancy rose to 15.1% by mid-2025, mainly because every lease at New Printing House Square expired in June 2025. Source: 2025 half year report.
Where and how big
London and South East
3
Real Estate Investors plc
Paul Bassi CBE · Chief Executive Officer
Birmingham based REIT, 34 assets, 950,423 sq ft, mixed use across the Midlands.
The REIT you raised with Cyril: kept on the list, lower priority
What they own
A mixed use Midlands portfolio, offices, retail and leisure, held through a three year sell down programme.
Why they are a target
Tenant failures leave units empty at short notice, and a sell down means assets sitting vacant while they are marketed.
Evidence of empty space
Occupancy fell to 78.69% at the end of 2025 from 82.04%, after lease events and tenant CVAs including River Island. Source: January 2026 trading update.
Where and how big
Midlands, 34 assets
4
Helical plc
· Chief Executive (name to confirm at list stage)
Listed London office developer and investor.
What they own
London offices, developed and refurbished, with a pipeline of buildings coming back to the market.
Why they are a target
A development pipeline means completed space waiting to let, which is exactly when full rates start.
Evidence of empty space
Vacancy on completed assets of 22.4% at 30 September 2025, up from 21.3% in March. Source: half year results to 30 September 2025.
Where and how big
London
5
Unex Group
· Director or asset manager (to identify)
Private property group based in Newmarket, Suffolk.
Private owner, the profile you rank highest
What they own
Commercial property including Waterloo House in Ipswich, the four storey former Debenhams.
Why they are a target
A large town centre building empty for years is the single most expensive kind of vacancy there is.
Evidence of empty space
Waterloo House has been empty since 2021, and the local council has publicly called the building a blight on the town. Source: BBC coverage.
Where and how big
Suffolk, town centre retail
6
Picton Property Income
· Chief Executive (name to confirm at list stage)
Listed REIT, 699m pounds across 46 assets, two thirds industrial.
REIT: kept on the list, lower priority
What they own
Industrial estates, offices and retail warehousing across the UK.
Why they are a target
Industrial units handed back mid year sit empty while they are re-let, and industrial relief runs out after six months.
Evidence of empty space
Occupancy of 83% at 31 March 2026, after two significant industrial lease events in the second half. Source: annual results to 31 March 2026.
Where and how big
UK wide, 46 assets
7
Towngate PLC
· Managing director or estates manager (to identify)
Private family owned industrial landlord across Yorkshire and the North West.
Private owner: the vacancy is visible because they are advertising it
What they own
Industrial units and warehouses from 3,000 to 300,000 sq ft, largely in Leeds, Wakefield and Brighouse.
Why they are a target
They market their own vacancies publicly, so we can see what is empty without asking anyone.
Evidence of empty space
Units openly advertised to let on their own website, including 17,000 sq ft at Cross Green in Leeds. Source: their property listings.
Where and how big
Yorkshire and North West
8
Chancerygate
· Asset management director (to identify)
Industrial developer and asset manager, around 600m pounds under management.
Lower priority, on your instruction
What they own
Speculative multi unit industrial schemes, with a pipeline running from the south coast up to Scotland.
Why they are a target
Lower priority, on your point: developers on speculative schemes often stop work just before completion, which keeps the unit off the rating list. Kept on the list because it does not always happen, and completed phases waiting to let do carry the demand.
Evidence of empty space
Speculative schemes under construction from Bournemouth up to Warrington, and completed phases still part let. Source: their development pages.
Where and how big
England wide pipeline
9
Town Centre Securities
· Executive chairman or property director (to confirm)
Listed property company, 89% of assets in Leeds and Manchester.
To check against your existing relationships before any send
What they own
Retail, offices, car parks and hotels concentrated in Leeds and Manchester.
Why they are a target
Voids are low but never zero, and in a concentrated portfolio each empty unit is visible.
Evidence of empty space
Voids of 7.4% for the year to 30 June 2025, improved on the previous year. Source: FY25 results.
Where and how big
Leeds and Manchester
10
Evans Property Group
· Director or asset manager (to identify)
Long established private investor and developer based in Leeds.
Floor case, on purpose: if the sequence works here, it works on your whole list
What they own
Offices, industrial and retail held long term across Yorkshire, plus a development land bank.
Why they are a target
A long term holder of mixed commercial property will always have something standing empty somewhere.
Evidence of empty space
No public vacancy figure at all. This is the floor case: we know what they own, and nothing more.
Where and how big
Yorkshire
Wave one is commercial property owners, the scope we agreed at the outset. Occupiers, managing agents and rating surveyors stay on the target list, but each needs its own list and its own sequence rather than a reworded version of this one, so they come in a second wave. Councils are out.
One qualification rule filters everything: the property must be currently rated, unoccupied, and carry a combined rateable value above 100,000 pounds, which can be made up of several vacant hereditaments in the same property. That is roughly 55,000 pounds a year in rates at the current multiplier. Among the owners, privately held property companies rank above REITs and speculative developers.
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03 / What we can personalise on
4 signals, in cascade
For each owner we look for four things, in order of value. The first one is a bonus when it exists. The last one is always there, and the whole sequence is built so that it still works with nothing but that.
01 · A building we can name, or a piece of news
Level
Bonus, when it exists
Where it comes from
Press, council coverage, their own announcements
How often we find it
20 to 30% (estimate, to confirm on the full list)
Unex Group
What we found: Waterloo House in Ipswich, the former Debenhams, empty since 2021
opens on that building by name, the one that made us write
CLS Holdings
What we found: every lease at New Printing House Square expired in June 2025
opens on the building that emptied, and the month it happened
02 · A published occupancy figure
Level
Core signal on listed owners
Where it comes from
Annual and half year results
How often we find it
Close to 100% on listed owners
Regional REIT
What we found: EPRA occupancy 75.9% at the end of 2025, down on the year
opens on the figure and where we read it
Real Estate Investors
What we found: occupancy down to 78.69% after tenant CVAs
opens on what pulled the occupancy down
Helical
What we found: 22.4% vacancy on completed assets at 30 September 2025
opens on the vacancy carried on completed buildings
03 · Space they are openly marketing to let
Level
Core signal on private owners
Where it comes from
Their own website, commercial property portals
How often we find it
60 to 70% on private owners (estimate)
Towngate PLC
What we found: 17,000 sq ft advertised at Cross Green, Leeds
opens on the units they are marketing, naming the place
Chancerygate
What we found: speculative schemes from Bournemouth up to Warrington
opens on where they are building, not on what they do
04 · What they own and where
Level
Floor, available on everyone
Where it comes from
Their website, Companies House, property listings
How often we find it
100%
Evans Property Group
What we found: offices, industrial and retail held across Yorkshire
opens on their actual mix of assets and their actual region
Picton Property Income
What we found: industrial, offices and retail warehousing across the UK
opens on the kind of space they hold and the relief clock that goes with it
Two rules we hold to. We never claim a building is empty unless a public source says so: we say what we saw, dated, and let the owner correct us. And every fact is checked again mechanically the week we send, because a vacancy can be filled between now and launch. If a fact no longer holds, that prospect drops down a level rather than going out with something false in the first line.
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04 / Value proposition
The angle: what the Court of Appeal changed, and what it means for their empty space
Every email opens on their building, their portfolio, their empty floor, then names the subject straight away so it reads on its own. The ruling comes next, in three lines, because it is the reason anyone would write to them about this now. The mechanism follows as the answer to it. No sales language, no company presentation, and no argument about your own history: the emails stay on what the Court decided and what it means for the reader.
3 things the sequence puts in front of an owner, each one answering something that actually bothers them:
The question has changed
Occupation on its own is no longer enough. What counts is whether the tenant had a real commercial reason to be there.
an arrangement that may no longer hold
Yours answers it
Your tenant company trades from the building, and would still have a reason to be there if the relief did not exist.
nothing to show a council
And the owner saves more
65 to 75% of the rates demand, on a process designed around commercial substance.
a demand nobody questions
Central message: empty space is rated in full, and the Court of Appeal has just narrowed what counts as occupation. A tenant now needs a commercial reason to be in the building beyond saving the owner the rates. Your tenant company trades from the property, which is what answers it, and the owner saves 65 to 75% of the demand.
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05 / Call to action
The gift: one page on one of their own buildings
You told us a free comparison is no reason to reply, because every competitor offers one. So the page has two halves. The savings, which anyone can produce. And the reasoning that holds them up against the test the Court has just set, which no other provider can credibly write, since their own arrangement is the one in question. It is the combination that earns a yes.
All the emails ask for is a yes
No documents, no forms, no meeting, no calendar link, no price. One question they can answer in a line. You ask which building only once they are interested.
Their building, their numbers
Not a briefing sent to everyone. One page on a building they own: what they would save, set against what they pay today.
And why it holds
The second half is the part a competitor cannot write: why this process answers the commercial purpose test, with the evidence behind it.
The wording in email 1: "I can put a page together on one of your empty buildings, what you would save and why this holds up if anyone asks. Costs you nothing either way. Would that be useful?" Your two points are built in. We use save rather than keep throughout, since keep could be read as keeping the demand rather than the money. And your capacity, 15 to 20 notes a week, now sets the sending pace: at a 4% reply rate that means roughly 400 contacts a week, so the campaign never builds a queue you cannot clear.
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06 / The three emails
The heart of the campaign
The three emails go to the same person, a few days and then a few weeks apart, under one subject line so they stay in the same thread. Each takes a different angle: the ruling and what it changes in email 1, the two questions to put to a current provider in email 2, the timing in email 3. Every email opens on something specific to that owner, then names the subject again in its own words, so it stands up for someone who never opened the first one.
For each email you get the template, with the parts written per prospect highlighted, then examples filled in on the real owners from section 02. Click an example to open it.
Email 1 · What the Court of Appeal changed
Template
Opens on what we found about their empty space, names the rates in the next breath, then the ruling in three lines and your process as the answer to it. Your two corrections are in: demand rather than bill, and your own wording on how the process was conceived. The opening line has four levels, from a building we can name down to what they own, so every owner on the list gets a real first line.
Hello {{first_name}}, {{ai_hook_1}}.
I'm writing about the vacant business rates on that empty space, and the expected impact that the Court of Appeal decision on 29th July this year may have. The CoA overruled the case that box-shifting and intermittent occupation schemes have leaned on for years now. Occupation on its own is no longer enough. What counts now is whether the tenant had a real commercial reason to be in the building, beyond saving you the rates.
If you use one of those arrangements, your provider may not have mentioned it yet. If you don't, you are simply paying the lot. Our process was conceived in anticipation of this test, several months before the ruling: our tenant company takes a lease and genuinely trades from the building. You save 65 to 75% of the rates demand.
I can put a page together on one of your empty buildings, what you would save and why this holds up if anyone asks. Costs you nothing either way. Would that be useful?
Jeremy
Mothball
Filled examples
CLS Holdings
Level 1: a building we can name
Subject: question empty rates london offices
Hello Fredrik, I saw every lease at New Printing House Square came to an end in June last year.
I'm writing about the vacant business rates on that empty space, and the expected impact that the Court of Appeal decision on 29th July this year may have. The CoA overruled the case that box-shifting and intermittent occupation schemes have leaned on for years now. Occupation on its own is no longer enough. What counts now is whether the tenant had a real commercial reason to be in the building, beyond saving you the rates.
If you use one of those arrangements, your provider may not have mentioned it yet. If you don't, you are simply paying the lot. Our process was conceived in anticipation of this test, several months before the ruling: our tenant company takes a lease and genuinely trades from the building. You save 65 to 75% of the rates demand.
I can put a page together on one of your empty buildings, what you would save and why this holds up if anyone asks. Costs you nothing either way. Would that be useful?
Jeremy
Mothball
Regional REIT
Level 2: a published figure
Subject: question empty rates regional offices
Hello Stephen, I read in your final results that occupancy across the portfolio ended 2025 just under 76%.
I'm writing about the vacant business rates on that empty space, and the expected impact that the Court of Appeal decision on 29th July this year may have. The CoA overruled the case that box-shifting and intermittent occupation schemes have leaned on for years now. Occupation on its own is no longer enough. What counts now is whether the tenant had a real commercial reason to be in the building, beyond saving you the rates.
If you use one of those arrangements, your provider may not have mentioned it yet. If you don't, you are simply paying the lot. Our process was conceived in anticipation of this test, several months before the ruling: our tenant company takes a lease and genuinely trades from the building. You save 65 to 75% of the rates demand.
I can put a page together on one of your empty buildings, what you would save and why this holds up if anyone asks. Costs you nothing either way. Would that be useful?
Jeremy
Mothball
Towngate PLC
Level 3: space they are marketing
Subject: question empty rates leeds industrial
Hello {{first_name}}, I saw the units you're marketing at the moment, the 17,000 sq ft at Cross Green in Leeds among them.
I'm writing about the vacant business rates on that empty space, and the expected impact that the Court of Appeal decision on 29th July this year may have. The CoA overruled the case that box-shifting and intermittent occupation schemes have leaned on for years now. Occupation on its own is no longer enough. What counts now is whether the tenant had a real commercial reason to be in the building, beyond saving you the rates.
If you use one of those arrangements, your provider may not have mentioned it yet. If you don't, you are simply paying the lot. Our process was conceived in anticipation of this test, several months before the ruling: our tenant company takes a lease and genuinely trades from the building. You save 65 to 75% of the rates demand.
I can put a page together on one of your empty units, what you would save and why this holds up if anyone asks. Costs you nothing either way. Would that be useful?
Jeremy
Mothball
Evans Property Group
Level 4: the floor, nothing found
Subject: question empty rates yorkshire
Hello {{first_name}}, I saw you're long-term holders of offices, industrial and retail across Yorkshire.
I'm writing about the vacant business rates on that empty space, and the expected impact that the Court of Appeal decision on 29th July this year may have. The CoA overruled the case that box-shifting and intermittent occupation schemes have leaned on for years now. Occupation on its own is no longer enough. What counts now is whether the tenant had a real commercial reason to be in the building, beyond saving you the rates.
If you use one of those arrangements, your provider may not have mentioned it yet. If you don't, you are simply paying the lot. Our process was conceived in anticipation of this test, several months before the ruling: our tenant company takes a lease and genuinely trades from the building. You save 65 to 75% of the rates demand.
I can put a page together on one of your empty buildings, what you would save and why this holds up if anyone asks. Costs you nothing either way. Would that be useful?
Jeremy
Mothball
Your feedback on email 1Saved
Email 2 · The two questions
Template
Two of the five questions your own client briefing tells owners to ask, turned towards whoever runs their current arrangement. Most cannot answer the second one, which is the point. Your correction is in: we have mitigated business rates since 2008. No competitor is named anywhere, and the email names the subject again in its first line so it works for someone who never opened email 1.
Hello {{first_name}}, {{ai_hook_2}}.
I wrote to you about empty rates, and the Court of Appeal ruling that changed what counts as occupation. If you do use a mitigation arrangement, two questions are worth putting to whoever runs it.
What is your occupier actually doing in the building, beyond saving you the rates? And could you prove it if a council asked?
Most arrangements were never built to answer that. Ours was: our tenant company trades from the property, and it would still have a reason to be there if the relief did not exist. We have mitigated business rates since 2008, for owners of every size, from single buildings to listed portfolios, and saved them hundreds of millions.
I can put ours next to what you run today, on one of your buildings. Worth a look?
Jeremy
Mothball
Filled examples
Regional REIT
A second fact, not a repeat of email 1
Subject: question empty rates regional offices
Hello Stephen, I saw the 64 new lettings you signed last year, no small feat in regional offices.
I wrote to you about empty rates, and the Court of Appeal ruling that changed what counts as occupation. If you do use a mitigation arrangement, two questions are worth putting to whoever runs it.
What is your occupier actually doing in the building, beyond saving you the rates? And could you prove it if a council asked?
Most arrangements were never built to answer that. Ours was: our tenant company trades from the property, and it would still have a reason to be there if the relief did not exist. We have mitigated business rates since 2008, for owners of every size, from single buildings to listed portfolios, and saved them hundreds of millions.
I can put ours next to what you run today, on one of your buildings. Worth a look?
Jeremy
Mothball
Unex Group
Back to the building that started it
Subject: question empty rates ipswich
Hello {{first_name}}, Waterloo House is the building that made me write to you in the first place.
I wrote to you about empty rates, and the Court of Appeal ruling that changed what counts as occupation. If you do use a mitigation arrangement, two questions are worth putting to whoever runs it.
What is your occupier actually doing in the building, beyond saving you the rates? And could you prove it if a council asked?
Most arrangements were never built to answer that. Ours was: our tenant company trades from the property, and it would still have a reason to be there if the relief did not exist. We have mitigated business rates since 2008, for owners of every size, from single buildings to listed portfolios, and saved them hundreds of millions.
I can put ours next to what you run today, on one of your buildings. Worth a look?
Jeremy
Mothball
Evans Property Group
The floor version, still opening on them
Subject: question empty rates yorkshire
Hello {{first_name}}, I was thinking about the office, industrial and retail space you hold across Yorkshire.
I wrote to you about empty rates, and the Court of Appeal ruling that changed what counts as occupation. If you do use a mitigation arrangement, two questions are worth putting to whoever runs it.
What is your occupier actually doing in the building, beyond saving you the rates? And could you prove it if a council asked?
Most arrangements were never built to answer that. Ours was: our tenant company trades from the property, and it would still have a reason to be there if the relief did not exist. We have mitigated business rates since 2008, for owners of every size, from single buildings to listed portfolios, and saved them hundreds of millions.
I can put ours next to what you run today, on one of your buildings. Worth a look?
Jeremy
Mothball
Your feedback on email 2Saved
Email 3 · The right moment
Template
We cannot know from the outside whether anything is standing empty this month, so the last email says so plainly and leaves the offer on the table. The lightest ask of the three. Approved as it stood, with save and demand carried across for consistency with the other two.
Hello {{first_name}}, {{ai_hook_3}}. Last email from me, promise.
Empty rates only hurt when something is actually standing empty, and from the outside I can't tell if that's true for you right now. If I'm wrong and everything is let, ignore me and long may it last.
If I'm right, the offer stands: our tenant company takes the rates demand off an empty building by genuinely trading from it, which is exactly the test the Court of Appeal has just made decisive. You save 65 to 75%.
One page on one of your buildings, the money you would save and the reasoning that holds it up if anyone asks. Shall I put it together?
Jeremy
Mothball
Filled examples
Regional REIT
A third fact, and an assumption we own up to
Subject: question empty rates regional offices
Hello Stephen, I saw your results put last year's dip in occupancy down to lease breaks, so I'd guess a few floors are sitting empty as we speak. Last email from me, promise.
Empty rates only hurt when something is actually standing empty, and from the outside I can't tell if that's true for you right now. If I'm wrong and everything is let, ignore me and long may it last.
If I'm right, the offer stands: our tenant company takes the rates demand off an empty building by genuinely trading from it, which is exactly the test the Court of Appeal has just made decisive. You save 65 to 75%.
One page on one of your buildings, the money you would save and the reasoning that holds it up if anyone asks. Shall I put it together?
Jeremy
Mothball
Picton Property Income
Industrial units handed back
Subject: question empty rates industrial
Hello {{first_name}}, I saw two big industrial units came back to you last year, so I'd guess at least one is still sitting empty. Last email from me, promise.
Empty rates only hurt when something is actually standing empty, and from the outside I can't tell if that's true for you right now. If I'm wrong and everything is let, ignore me and long may it last.
If I'm right, the offer stands: our tenant company takes the rates demand off an empty building by genuinely trading from it, which is exactly the test the Court of Appeal has just made decisive. You save 65 to 75%.
One page on one of your buildings, the money you would save and the reasoning that holds it up if anyone asks. Shall I put it together?
Jeremy
Mothball
Evans Property Group
The floor version, built on their own mix of assets
Subject: question empty rates yorkshire
Hello {{first_name}}, with the mix of offices, industrial and retail you hold across Yorkshire, something is usually standing empty somewhere. Last email from me, promise.
Empty rates only hurt when something is actually standing empty, and from the outside I can't tell if that's true for you right now. If I'm wrong and everything is let, ignore me and long may it last.
If I'm right, the offer stands: our tenant company takes the rates demand off an empty building by genuinely trading from it, which is exactly the test the Court of Appeal has just made decisive. You save 65 to 75%.
One page on one of your buildings, the money you would save and the reasoning that holds it up if anyone asks. Shall I put it together?
Jeremy
Mothball
Your feedback on email 3Saved
07 / Next steps
What happens once you have validated
1
The copy is settled
Your corrections are applied: demand rather than bill, save rather than keep, your own wording on how the process was conceived, and mitigated business rates since 2008.
2
We build the list
Private property companies first, then REITs, with your qualification rule applied: currently rated, unoccupied, combined rateable value above 100,000 pounds. You see a sample before we extract everything.
3
We write the emails across the list
Every opening line comes from a sourced fact, checked again the week we send, and dropped down a level rather than sent with anything unverified.
4
Launch in early September
Paced to your capacity, around 400 contacts a week, so the replies never outrun the 15 to 20 notes you can produce.
The copy is settled: emails 2 and 3 as they stood, email 1 with your wording on the opening paragraph. Nothing is outstanding on either side. The next step is the list, where your qualification rule does the heavy lifting: currently rated, unoccupied, and a combined rateable value above 100,000 pounds. You will see a sample of real prospects before a single email is generated.
08 / Your validation
Ready to send your feedback?
Here is where you have got to on each section. Once you have had your say on them, you can send the whole lot over in one go.
Your progress
You can send even if some sections are still open. Anything you comment on comes back to Thibault to rework.
Prospects
Signals
Value proposition
Call to action
Email 1
Email 2
Email 3
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