Firms with small business insurance are increasingly signing shorter tenancy deals on the properties which they rent.
Such is the assertion of the British Property Federation (BPF), which reveals that four-fifths (81 per cent) of businesses are taking out leases of five years or less, while around three per cent opt for contracts which last longer than a decade.
The average lease length for 2009-10 stood at five years, down from the 5.9 years recorded in 2008-09.
However a particularly dramatic decline was seen in lease lengths for retail property, which could include deals for those businesses with shop insurance. Over the 12-month period, the typical contract decreased from 6.5 to 5.4 years.
"For small businesses, shorter leases are probably a good thing, with the pace of business change so fast these days it makes little sense for most small and medium-sized businesses to tie themselves into the obligations of a long lease," Liz Peace, chief executive of the BPF, states.
Earlier this month, Scotland's Chief Statistician reported that 110,500 business premises in the country received rates relief in 2009-10, a rise of 18 per cent from the previous year.
