Your tenancy agreement is coming to an end. Whether you stay or move will determine years of costs.

Stay or Move is a decision-making analysis for companies whose office lease is due to expire in the foreseeable future. We carry out a full cost-benefit analysis of both options: one scenario involves remaining in the existing premises, possibly with refurbishment and a renegotiated lease, and the other involves moving to an alternative location. Both options are assessed using the same criteria — based on the cost per workstation and as net present value over the full term of the lease.

The result is a decision-making document that you can use to present your case to the management board, advisory board or shareholders. Not a recommendation that you simply have to take on faith, but a calculation that you can verify for yourself.

The site assessment is free of charge. For the full analysis, our aim is to ensure that there are no costs to you: we cover the specialist planner’s planning costs up front, and we recover our fee from the property owner — the current landlord if you stay, or the new owner if you move out.

We deliberately say ‘commitment’ rather than ‘guarantee’. In the vast majority of cases, this arrangement can be implemented; should anything different apply in an individual case, we will discuss this with you before any costs are incurred — not afterwards.

There is one, and we’d rather set it out in writing: If you have the analysis carried out in full and then, without any intervention on our part, decide to maintain the status quo — that is, neither to renegotiate, nor to refurbish, nor to relocate, but simply to exercise an extension option, for example — you will bear the actual planning costs incurred by the specialist planner.

In return, you will receive all the planning results: the occupancy concept, space requirements and feasibility study. This is work that retains its value even if you do not relocate. As soon as you renegotiate, refurbish or relocate, the following applies once again: at no cost to you.

Because our fee is the same in both cases. Whether you stay in your current premises or move makes no financial difference to us. We earn from your decision, not from the direction you take — and that’s not just a marketing slogan, but the basis on which we operate.

The more honest way to deal with this question is to ask it openly, rather than sidestepping it. Anyone who can’t explain their business model without getting flustered probably has one that doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.

Every piece of advice in the property market operates within a complex balance of interests. We deal with this openly, rather than hiding it. In practical terms, this means that we clearly identify any property for which you would be liable to pay commission and factor it fairly into our comparisons — like for like. You can see at any time who is paying whom for which service.

There, everything is usually provided from a single source: letting, consultancy, planning, and often investment interests in the same property. This can be efficient. The question that is rarely asked, however, is: where exactly within this structure is the user’s best interest actually being considered?

We are not tied to any specific specialist planner and select the most suitable one for each property. Our fee is independent of the direction your decision takes. And we are based in Cologne; we know the properties, the owners and the key players from first-hand experience — not from a database.

As a rule of thumb, this applies to office space of around 1,000 square metres or more. However, it is not the floor area alone that is decisive, but the combination of size, rent level and remaining lease term. For 1,000 square metres at a very low rent, it’s not worth the effort for either party; for 1,500 square metres in a good city-centre location, the sums involved can quickly become substantial.

We’ll give you an honest assessment of whether it’s actually worth it for you in our free location check. If not, we’ll tell you that too — and you’ll still have one more figure to go on than you did before.

On the contrary, this is the right time. You build up bargaining power around twenty-four months before the contract expires, not three months beforehand. If you start too late, you can no longer seriously consider any alternatives, let alone plan for and secure them — and so you end up negotiating without any leverage.

The best time to do this is two years before the end. The second-best is today.

In that case, this analysis will be particularly valuable to you. A verified move-out option is your strongest bargaining chip in any lease renewal negotiation — especially if you want to stay. Your landlord calculates very precisely what your move-out would cost him; in our example, this amounted to around 2,500 euros per square metre.

So you pay nothing to be in a stronger position in these negotiations. And if the calculation ultimately suggests you should stay — then that’s a result, not a failure.

That’s standard practice and not a problem. The question is a different one: has anyone there worked out your costs per workstation and broken down your landlord’s statement of account for you? If so, you’re in good hands. If not, you’re missing the two figures on which the decision actually hinges.

The location assessment doesn’t commit you to anything and costs you nothing. It’s simply a second opinion – nothing more.

Not for the free site assessment. For the full analysis, yes — and that’s fair: we cover the costs up front and bear the planning costs; in return, we get exclusive rights to the project.

The contract has been deliberately kept brief. It sets out who does what, who pays for what, and what happens if the process is terminated. No five pages of small print for a first step.

The site assessment takes around fifteen minutes for the consultation, plus an initial evaluation. The full analysis — needs assessment, market analysis, planning and net present value comparison — takes several weeks, depending on the size and complexity of the project.

We set a binding timetable at the outset, working backwards from the end of your contract. This means you can see right from the start when each decision is due.

For the site assessment, we need four pieces of information: approximate floor area, current rent, number of staff at the site and the end date of the lease. That’s all.

For a full analysis, we need to review the existing tenancy agreement and the current space situation. We do not carry out any stock-taking, interview anyone or disrupt your business operations.

A specialist planner from our network of partners — selected based on who is best suited to your building and your project. We are not tied to any particular provider and will present their quote to you without any filters.

This freedom is an advantage, not a mere detail: a planner who specialises in optimising existing properties works differently from one who develops new-build sites. The right person should work on your project, not someone with a vested interest.

Only if and when you want it. Whether, when and how an alternative is put forward to the landlord is part of the strategy we will draw up together with you. None of this will happen without your knowledge.

In many cases, it is tactically wise to signal early on that you are looking into your options. In others, it is better to exercise restraint. It is precisely this kind of judgement that forms part of our work.

We treat everything you entrust to us as strictly confidential and do not pass it on to third parties. Your budget, your timeline and your internal considerations remain with us.

The specialist planner receives only the information they need for their work. And the data entered into the calculator on this page never leaves your browser.

We provide consultancy services throughout North Rhine-Westphalia, with a focus on the Cologne and Düsseldorf markets. As part of the Angermann Real Estate Group, we also have a nationwide network — which is often the deciding factor for companies with multiple locations.

Yes. The question ‘Where can I find extra space?’ boils down to the same calculation, just with a different perspective: expanding within the existing premises, adding space within the same building, or moving to a larger unit. Here, too, it is not the price per square metre that matters, but rather the cost of the additional workstation.

In that case, we’ll let you know — and support you through the renewal negotiations. Financially, nothing changes for us, as our fee is the same in both cases. For you, however, a lot changes: you’ll go into the meeting with two fully calculated options and your landlord’s final bill – whereas most companies go in empty-handed.

That, too, is a legitimate outcome. In that case, the scenario described above applies: you bear the actual planning costs incurred, and you receive all the deliverables. We consider this to be the fairest of all arrangements — it protects both parties from getting drawn into a process that neither side seriously intends to see through to the end.