Here's the uncomfortable truth about commercial property in the UK. The agent showing you around that shiny new office block almost certainly works for the landlord. Their job is to fill that building at the highest possible rent. Your interests come second. Sometimes they don't come at all.
This is the single biggest problem with real estate agents in commercial property. And most business owners have no idea it exists.
The conflict of interest hiding in plain sight
Think about it like this. When you buy a house, the estate agent works for the seller. Everyone knows that. You might not love it, but at least you understand the dynamic. In commercial property, the same thing happens - except nobody tells you.
The agent walks you around several offices. You think they've searched the whole market. In reality, they're showing you buildings where they have a landlord relationship. They have service level agreements to meet. They need to prove they've marketed a landlord's property, arranged viewings, pushed it to potential tenants. That's you, by the way. You're the person being pushed.
The big firms - the ones with familiar names on office blocks across every major city - represent both landlords and tenants. They call it "full service." Critics call it something else entirely. RICS, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, looked into this and found that firms acting for both parties "often do not have sufficient separation between the departments." That was their polite way of saying the Chinese walls are paper thin.
Real estate agent problems don't end there. Because landlords provide steady, monthly revenue, they will always be the more valuable client. A tenant looking for space every five or ten years simply cannot compete with that kind of ongoing income. When push comes to shove, who do you think the agent prioritises?
Can you trust a real estate agent?
The public doesn't think so. Just 28% of people trust estate agents to tell them the truth. (source levelworkspace.com) That figure comes from the Ipsos Veracity Index, the longest-running trust poll in Britain. Estate agents sit near the bottom of the table, beating only government ministers, advertising executives and politicians. That's not great company.
And honestly, can you trust real estate agents when the financial incentives point away from your interests? Only 14% of people believe an agent will tell them the negative aspects of a property. Fourteen percent. That means almost nine out of ten people expect to be shown only the good bits.
For a business owner making one of their biggest financial commitments - signing a commercial lease - this is a serious problem. You're relying on someone whose loyalties lie elsewhere to give you honest, impartial advice about rent levels, break clauses, dilapidation liabilities and hidden costs. It's like asking the opposing team's coach for tactical advice.
A different model exists, and it's growing
There is another way. A small but growing number of office brokers now work exclusively for tenants. No landlord relationships. No buildings to market. No service level agreements pushing them to fill specific properties. They search the entire market - including off-market opportunities - and negotiate on the tenant's behalf only.
It works similarly to a buying agent in residential property. The concept is well established in the US, where occupier-only firms have operated for decades. In the UK, it's still relatively niche, but that's changing fast.
An Office Real estate agent representing only tenants removes the fundamental problem with real estate agents in this sector. When your broker doesn't owe anything to the landlord, the advice changes. You hear about properties that genuinely suit your needs, not the ones that need filling. You get honest assessments of what a fair rent looks like. You get someone in the room during negotiations who is actually trying to get you the best deal.
The surprising part? This typically costs the tenant nothing extra. The commission is already built into the transaction. If you don't use your own broker, the landlord's agent simply keeps the full fee. Using a tenant-only broker just means splitting that commission so someone is genuinely in your corner.
Why BREEAM excellent buildings matter for your next office
A good tenant broker will also steer you toward offices that make long-term sense. That increasingly means looking at sustainability credentials. BREEAM Excellent Buildings - rated in the top 10% of UK commercial stock - offer real advantages beyond the environmental tick-box. They tend to have better air quality, more natural light and lower energy costs. Research from the World Green Building Council suggests productivity improvements of 8 to 11% in well-certified buildings.
That matters when you're trying to attract and retain talent. Staff notice whether your office is a tired block with flickering strip lighting or a well-designed space that takes their wellbeing seriously. With tighter EPC regulations coming and older buildings struggling to meet minimum standards, choosing a sustainable office now also protects you from being forced to relocate when regulations catch up with your landlord.
Only around 27% of Central London office stock has a BREEAM rating. Outside London, the figure is even lower. A tenant-only broker with proper market knowledge can identify these buildings and negotiate accordingly, rather than steering you toward whatever their landlord client happens to own.
The bottom line for business owners
If you're searching for office space, ask one simple question before you engage an agent. Who pays you? If the answer involves a landlord, you know where their loyalties sit. That doesn't make them bad people. It makes them conflicted.
The problems with real estate agents in commercial property are structural, not personal. The system incentivises agents to serve landlords first. A tenant-only model flips that entirely. It's not complicated. It's just different. And for business owners making significant property decisions, that difference can save real money and a lot of frustration.
