The interpretation of tenant break clauses has always been an area where the court routinely finds in favour of upholding the exact wording in the lease, regardless of the seemingly unfair impact that this may have upon the tenant and the tenant’s business.
As such the recent decision of the Supreme Court in Marks & Spencer plc v BNP Paribas Security Services Trust Company (Jersey) Limited and another [2015] UKSC 72 will not come as a surprise to most practitioners. It should also give landlords the confidence to both demand and keep a full quarter’s rent from any tenant seeking to terminate their lease in the middle of a quarter by operation of a break clause, except in cases where there is a clear clause to the contrary.