If you want to attract customers, then finding the right location for your shop or F&B outlet is crucial. Location is key when it comes to footfall and transportation hubs will always attract footfall. As a result, you should know a few things about your commercial space rental.

One such place in Singapore where footfall is high is bus interchanges. These terminals on the road let commuters get home without hassle. Also, they are always looking for good places to eat or do shopping; thus footfall here can make or break a business. So if you settle your business into one of these, expect more customers to come in through your store’s front door.

If you think this may not be viable for your new business because people only come by bus, then that isn’t true! Many people flock to public transportation hubs simply because that’s where all the foot traffic is. They may walk or get dropped off by friends to wait for their bus instead of standing alone on the road. But footfall here still largely depends on its location, so be sure to check it out before you plan your business around it!

Even transportation hubs that are far from CBD or Orchard will still get footfall because people usually do not head straight into town when they leave work. Many would stop at transport hubs in housing estates away from the city center, and footfall here is generally higher than in housing estates without these interchanges. This means more customers in all sorts of demographics looking for good food spots, retail shops for impulse buys, convenient stores for quick snacks or late-night munchies, or even simply a place to wait for the bus at.

GTO stands for Gross Turnover Rent. Gross Turnover Rent is calculated as a percentage of your turnover. It is based on turnover, not profit, which means that it includes all of the company’s overheads. This means that any business with high variable costs or large overheads would find this more expensive than a monthly rent-charge per sq ft, for example.

When buying or renting a property, many people are offered the option to buy into an additional rent-based system that will raise their monthly outgoings – known as Gross Turnover Rent (GTR). This is seen on some commercial properties but is becoming more common with residential landlords too.The GTO is designed to be a money-making device for most of the landlords. It comes under many names, including gross turnover rent (GTR), carpet area rate (CAR), and parti business rates (PBR). The idea is that instead of paying an approximate market or normal rent rate every month, you pay the equivalent of x% of what you buy from the shop/market/business every month instead. The charge will vary depending on where you are in the country but it can be as much as 10x – 100x more expensive than your local market value. This extra charge goes straight into your landlord’s pocket, not yours.

The regular leasing period for commercial space is typically between one and two years as it offers a great compromise between stability and flexibility but we remain open to discuss shorter or longer term rentals