Lease Commitments

6 Months Ended

Oct. 31, 2013

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Lease Commitments

Note 12 - Lease Commitments:

On June 4, 1993, the Company entered into a 15 year lease agreement to provide primary office space.  The lease included free rental periods as well as scheduled base rent escalations over the term of the lease.  In April 2007, the Company extended the term for 5 additional years at a market rental rate to May 2013. The total amount of the base rent payments is being charged to expense on the straight-line method over the term of the lease.

On February 7, 2013, the Company and Citibank, N.A. (the “Sublandlord”) entered into a sublease agreement, pursuant to which Value Line has leased approximately 44,493 square feet of office space located on the ninth floor at 485 Lexington Ave., New York, NY (“Building” or “Premises”) beginning on  July 1, 2013 and ending on February 27, 2017 (“Sublease”).  On August 16, 2013, the Company moved to the Building which became its new corporate office facility.  Base rent under the Sublease is $1,468,269 per annum, subject to customary concessions in the Company’s favor and pass-through of certain increases in operating costs and real estate taxes.  The Company provided a security deposit in cash in the amount of $489,423, which is to be partially returned over the course of the sublease term.  The Company is required to pay for certain operating expenses associated with the Premises as well as utilities supplied to the Premises.  The Sublease terms have provided for a significant decrease in the Company’s annual rental expenses.  The Company recorded a deferred charge on its Consolidated Balance Sheets to reflect the excess of annual rental expense over cash payments since inception of the lease due to free rent for the first six months of the sublease.

Value Line reached an agreement with its previous landlord to extend the term of the expired lease for its previous corporate office facility, which expired on May 31, 2013, for a period of three and a half months from June 1, 2013 to September 15, 2013 (“Lease Modification”) at a rental which approximated the Company’s monthly rent payments under the expired lease obligation.

Rental expenses for the six months ended October 31, 2013 and October 31, 2012 were $1,638,000 and $1,255,000, respectively.  The increase in rent expense during fiscal 2014 included additional short term overlapping rent expense of $771,000 for the previously occupied office facilities during the lease extension which ended September 15, 2013.

As of October 31, 2013 future minimum payments, exclusive of potential increases in real estate taxes and operating cost escalations, under operating leases for office space, with remaining terms of one year or more, are as follows:

Twelve Months ended October 31,	Previous Lease		Current New Sublease		Total
			($ in thousands)
2014	$	-	$	1,224	$	1,224
2015		-		1,468		1,468
2016		-		1,468		1,468
2017		-		490		490
	$	-	$	4,650	$	4,650

As of October 31, 2012 future minimum payments, exclusive of potential increases in real estate taxes and operating cost escalations, under operating leases for office space, with remaining terms of one year or more, were as follows:

Twelve Months ended October 31,	Previous Lease		New Sublease		Total
			($ in thousands)
2013	$	2,800	$	-	$	2,800
	$	2,800	$	-	$	2,800