How to Model a Commercial Lease

Learn how to build flexible commercial real estate lease models in Excel, including rent reviews, lease events, break clauses, incentives, turnover rent structures, and cash flow forecasting. Develop practical modelling skills used in asset management and investment analysis.

  • DIFFICULTY LEVEL: Beginner

  • CPD HOURS: 10

How to Model a Commercial Lease

Learn how to build flexible commercial real estate lease models in Excel, including rent reviews, lease events, break clauses, incentives, turnover rent structures, and cash flow forecasting. Develop practical modelling skills used in asset management and investment analysis.

  • DIFFICULTY LEVEL: Beginner

  • CPD HOURS: 10

Course Overview

Commercial leases sit at the heart of real estate cash flow analysis, investment underwriting, and asset management. Understanding how to interpret lease documents and translate them into robust financial models is a core skill for anyone working in commercial property.

This course teaches you how to build practical commercial lease models in Excel using real-world real estate examples and industry-standard modelling techniques.

You’ll learn how to extract key information from Heads of Terms and lease agreements, structure lease cash flow models, and analyse the financial impact of lease events including rent reviews, void periods, incentives, break clauses, and reletting assumptions.

The course also covers key real estate asset management metrics including WAULT, occupancy analysis, net-to-gross ratios, and rental cash flow forecasting, helping you understand how lease modelling supports investment decisions and property performance analysis.

Whether you are working in investment, valuation, leasing, development, or asset management, this course provides the technical foundations needed to model commercial leases confidently and professionally.

What you will learn

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

  • Understand the structure, purpose, and key clauses within commercial real estate leases

  • Extract relevant lease inputs from Heads of Terms and lease agreements

  • Build commercial lease cash flow models in Excel

  • Model rent, void periods, incentives, service charge, and business rates

  • Analyse lease events including rent reviews, break clauses, and reletting assumptions

  • Model turnover rent structures and rental growth assumptions

  • Calculate key real estate metrics including WAULT, occupancy, and net-to-gross ratios

  • Perform sensitivity analysis to test leasing assumptions and break scenarios

  • Forecast lease cash flows for use in investment analysis and asset management

  • Present lease modelling outputs clearly for investment papers, board reports, and client presentations

  • Improve your commercial real estate modelling and underwriting skills using practical case studies

Who this course is for

This course is designed for anyone involved in commercial real estate analysis, leasing, investment, or asset management.

It is particularly valuable for:

  • Real estate analysts and graduates

  • Asset management professionals

  • Commercial surveyors and valuers

  • Investment and acquisitions professionals

  • Leasing and property management professionals

  • Development and underwriting professionals

  • Anyone looking to improve commercial lease modelling and Excel skills

No advanced lease modelling or real estate experience is required.

Ready to improve your lease modelling skills?

Join the EiP Academy to access this course alongside the full library of real estate financial modelling training, live support sessions, downloadable tools, and practical case studies.

FAQs

What is commercial lease modelling?

Commercial lease modelling involves building Excel-based cash flow models that analyse rental income, lease events, tenant incentives, voids, break clauses, and property performance over time.

Will I learn how to model lease cash flows in Excel?

Yes. The course teaches you how to build practical commercial lease cash flow models used in investment analysis, underwriting, and asset management.

Do you cover WAULT and occupancy analysis?

Yes. The course includes training on key commercial real estate metrics including WAULT, physical occupancy, economic occupancy, and net-to-gross ratios.

Is this course suitable for beginners?

Yes. The course is designed for beginners through to early-career professionals looking to build practical lease modelling skills.

Will I work with real lease examples?

Yes. The course includes practical examples using Heads of Terms, lease documentation, and real-world lease modelling scenarios.

Is this relevant for asset management and investment roles?

Yes. The modelling techniques taught in this course are widely used across commercial real estate investment, leasing, underwriting, valuation, and asset management roles.

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