Double lot and wide frontage shoplots for rent

1. Units already combined. Former supermarkets, banks and restaurants are often already joined. They are the quickest to take over if the layout suits you.
2. Adjoining units with one owner. Some owners hold two or three units side by side and prefer one tenant for all of them.
3. Adjoining units with different owners. This can work, but both landlords must agree, and the tenancies should share the same dates and renewal terms so you are not left with half a shop.
4. Timing. Neighbouring units rarely fall vacant together. Registering a brief lets an agent watch for the moment a unit next to a vacancy comes up.

• Written consent from every landlord, including how the units must be separated again when you leave.
• An engineer's view on opening the party wall, and whether the council needs to approve the works.
• Whether both units have the same approved use and can be licensed as one premises.
• Power, water and drainage in each unit, and whether supplies can be combined.

Our chain brand shop checklist covers frontage, signage and combining units in more detail.

In MCE's tracked listings, a quarter of the units in these hubs are larger than the sizes shown, which makes them good places to start:

• Bandar Utama and Ara Damansara: about 4,000 sq ft and up.
• Section 17, Petaling Jaya: about 4,560 sq ft and up.
• Pudu and Imbi: about 4,500 sq ft and up.
• SS15 Subang Jaya: about 3,520 sq ft and up.

Rent is usually close to the sum of the units, though a landlord with both units may accept a little less for a single long tenancy. Compare offers by rent per sq ft with our psf calculator, and ask for a rent-free period that reflects the larger fit-out. Brands opening several wide-format outlets can see how we run multi-site searches on our brands page.