ABSTRACT
One can do little better than to quote Sir Nicholas Browne-Wilkinson V-C’s observation in British Gas Corp v Universities Superannuation Scheme [1986] 1 EGLR 120:
There is really no dispute that the general purpose of a provision for rent review is to enable the landlord to obtain from time to time the market rental which the premises would command if let on the same terms in the open market at the review dates. The purpose is to reflect the changes in the value of money and real increases in the value of the property during a long term.
We saw in Chapter 1 that institutions with “real” liabilities such as pension payment obligations prefer assets which are capable of maintaining value during periods of (sometimes, but not recently, high) inflation.