Director — Acquisitions
James Hartley
Twenty years sourcing unusual commercial space across UK rural, leisure, and food-processing sectors. Previously at a regional commercial agency before founding BPS.
01About us
We source the space others say doesn't exist.
BPS Lettings was built around one conviction: that the best commercial spaces aren't on portals. They're off-market, awkward to access, and available to the agent willing to go and find them.
01Our story
Built around a different kind of brief.
BPS Lettings emerged from a simple frustration: occupiers with clear, specific requirements were being failed by conventional letting agents who could only work with what landlords listed publicly. Unusual sizes, non-standard use classes, rural or leisure land — standard portals offer almost nothing in these categories.
We built BPS to work the other way around. Instructed by the occupier, we go out to the market, approach owners directly, and do the sourcing legwork that a passive listing service cannot. And when we find the right property, we take the head lease ourselves — removing the head-lease risk from our client’s business entirely.
The result is a service that is genuinely aligned with the occupier: we only succeed when they do.
02How we operate
We don’t just find it. We take the lease.
BPS Lettings takes the head lease on every property we place clients into. We become the tenant of record with the landlord, and sub-let to you. The landlord deals with us; you deal with us. No triangular complications.
Property owner
Landlord
Grants the head lease
Head tenant — principal
BPS Lettings
Takes the head lease, then sub-lets
Occupier / sub-tenant
Client
Holds a sub-lease, ready to trade
03The team
Sector specialists, not generalists.
Head of Client Relations
Sarah Merton
Manages the occupier brief from first contact through to sub-lease completion. Specialist in matching complex operational requirements to off-market opportunities.
Legal & Compliance
Tom Ashford
Oversees head-lease negotiation and sub-lease drafting. Ensures the contractual framework is always transparent and fair to both landlords and occupiers.
Market Research & Sector Intelligence
Priya Nair
Tracks supply pipelines in niche sectors — leisure land, rural processing, event venues. Identifies off-market opportunities before they reach the open market.
04Credentials & memberships
Professionally regulated.
—
RICS
Membership — to confirm
—
Propertymark
Membership — to confirm
—
British Property Federation
Associate membership — to confirm
—
Regulated lettings practice
Registration details to follow
Regulatory and membership details are being confirmed and will be published here in full.
05Geographic coverage
UK-wide.
BPS operates across the United Kingdom. Our sourcing is active rather than reactive — we approach landowners and agents directly, which means geography is rarely a barrier for the right brief. We have particular depth of market knowledge in:
- —Leisure sites and visitor attractions
- —Rural farms, barns, and processing facilities
- —Food and cold-chain processing sites
- —Specialist event and hospitality venues
- —Retail and leisure units at scale
Ready to brief us on your requirement?
Tell us what space you need and we’ll search the market — on and off — to find the right property and structure the sub-lease around your business.