How To Model A Commercial Lease

Learn to confidently model commercial leases in Excel — from key terms to rent, breaks, voids, and reletting scenarios.

What you'll learn

Understand how commercial leases are structured and why they matter in real estate modelling

Know how to extract, structure, and model key lease data in Excel

Be confident applying lease terms such as rent-free, break options, and rent reviews in a financial model

Be confident applying lease terms such as rent-free, break options, and rent reviews in a financial modelBe confident applying lease terms such as rent-free, br

Build a clear, flexible cash flow and dashboard for lease performance analysis

Test different reletting assumptions and evaluate the impact using sensitivity tables

Requirements

A basic understanding of real estate leasing concepts

A working knowledge of Excel (you should be comfortable with formulas and cell referencing)

An interest in property investment, asset management, or financial modelling

Description

If you work in real estate investment, asset management, or finance, understanding how to model a commercial lease is an essential skill.This course shows you exactly how to build and analyse commercial lease cash flows in Excel – clearly, logically, and with a structure you can reuse across multiple deals.We’ll cover the full lease lifecycle, from start to expiry (and everything in between). You’ll learn how to handle rent-free periods, lease breaks, rent reviews, voids, reletting assumptions, capital incentives, and stepped rents. You’ll also calculate metrics like WAULT, physical and economic occupancy, net-to-gross ratio, and discounted cash flow.Throughout the course, you’ll be shown not just what to build – but why it matters. You’ll be taught how each element flows through to your cash flow, your valuation, and ultimately your investment decisions.This is a practical, real-world course, based on how leases are actually structured in the market. It’s suitable for:– Analysts building models from scratch– Asset managers reviewing and adapting models– Investors and lenders who want to understand the numbers behind the leasesBy the end of the course, you’ll know how to:– Build a flexible tenancy schedule with multiple lease layers– Model lease breaks, incentives, and future scenarios– Analyse how different assumptions affect your cash flow and valuation– Create a one-page dashboard to summarise key metrics and risks– Use Excel tools like INDEX, MATCH, SUMIFS, and data tables with confidenceYou’ll also complete a set of real-world tasks using investment brochures from the market – giving you the chance to practise and reinforce your skills in a low-pressure environment. There’s no grading. This is about building confidence and making you faster, sharper, and more commercially aware.Whether you're working on office, retail, or mixed-use assets, this course gives you the structure and understanding you need to model commercial leases accurately and efficiently.

Overview

Section 1: Module 1: Getting Started

Lecture 1 Welcome & Course Overview

Lecture 2 Learning Objectives & Expectations

Lecture 3 Disclaimer & Copyright Notice

Section 2: Module 2: Key Terms & Tools

Lecture 4 Glossary of Key Terms

Lecture 5 Workbook Download

Section 3: Module 3: Understanding the Concept

Lecture 6 What is a Commercial Lease?

Lecture 7 Example Heads of Terms

Lecture 8 Example Lease Agreement

Section 4: Module 4.1: Introduction & Setting up

Lecture 9 Introduction to Modelling a Commercial Lease

Lecture 10 Structuring the Model

Lecture 11 Filling in the L1 Tenancy Schedule

Lecture 12 Filling in the L2 Tenancy Schedule

Lecture 13 L1 Key Lease Dates

Lecture 14 L2 Key Lease Dates

Lecture 15 Tenant Timeline

Section 5: Module 4.2 How to Model an Existing Lease

Lecture 16 Rental Growth and Indexation

Lecture 17 Estimated Rental Value (ERV)

Lecture 18 Potential Rental Income

Lecture 19 Void Periods

Lecture 20 Rent Free Periods

Lecture 21 Actual Rental Income

Lecture 22 Service Charge

Lecture 23 Business Rates

Lecture 24 Break Clauses - Penalties & Incentives

Section 6: Module 4.3 How to Model a Future Lease

Lecture 25 Refurbishment

Lecture 26 Reletting Assumptions

Lecture 27 Marketing

Lecture 28 Letting Fees

Lecture 29 Tenant Incentives - Half Rent

Lecture 30 Tenant Incentives - Capital Contributions

Section 7: Module 5: Real-World Application

Lecture 31 WAULT (Weighted Average Unexpired Lease Term)

Lecture 32 Physical Occupancy

Lecture 33 Economic Occupancy

Lecture 34 Net to Gross Ratio

Lecture 35 Creating a Simple Dashboard

Lecture 36 Stress-Testing Assumptions

Section 8: Module 6: Test Your Skills

Lecture 37 Test Your Skills: Glasshouse Yard, London

Lecture 38 Test Your Skills: Granville St, Dover

Real estate analysts who want to build or improve lease modelling skills,Asset managers looking to test leasing scenarios and understand income risk,Surveyors and valuers who want to deepen their financial modelling capability,Investment professionals and lenders reviewing lease-backed deals,Anyone working with commercial leases who needs to understand how the numbers work in Excel