Top 5 relocation tips

Moving the business to new location or locations is a process best undertaken with a great deal of planning and forethought.  Commercial relocation is so much more than moving your house, its obvious isn’t it, but you would be surprised how many organisations approach this activity full of confidence due to someone having moved their own home last year, only to fail in spectacular fashion, costing the business dearly.

Here are my top 5 tips for your relocation project:

• Team:  Pull together your in house and professional team early on.  The fundamental requirement for the project team is to have delegated authority to make project decisions.  You will undoubtedly have a project Board with the overall Company authority, but the ability for the Project team to act within bounds is paramount. 

• Programme & Timing:  Your relocation project will almost certainly culminate in one or more moves over a series of weekends or a holiday period.  Planning for your project can start at either end of the scale.  Either working back from a mission critical end date, perhaps the expiration of the existing lease period, or working from the start, based on the longest lead time elements and the date you determine to launch the project.  Either way you cannot start the overall planning too soon.  Informal planning will have been taking place for some while but this needs to be pulled together at the earliest opportunity so that all aspects can be captured and detailed.

• Communication:  Early on in the project you will need to determine your communication strategy with staff and stakeholders.  As a source of rumour and misinformation, there are few better catalysts than a relocation project to stoke the fires!  Planning and implementing an integrated communication plan will greatly assist the project, both in terms of staff satisfaction and also in terms of buy in and co-operation.

• IT and Communications:  Make sure your IT and communications teams are fully engaged from the start.  We have seen projects that have started off in fine form, bringing the communications teams in at a later date, only to find there are practical technical matters that have been overlooked and the project suffers delays and cost overruns.

• Have a clear out!:  Develop time in the programme to encourage staff to have a good clear out of filing cabinets, old machinery, cupboards, loose boxes, equipment, records, files, obsolete bits and bobs and the many other things that will cost money to move, cost money to house and then cost money to move next time!  There will be opportunities to recycle, sell, donate, dispose and, in the process, contribute to the organisations corporate social responsibility agenda.

James Alexander Consultants can help you with your relocation project.

eMail us on innovation@jaltd.co.uk or see our contact page for our numbers.  We look forward to speaking with you.

Granite city takes the Gold!!

Knight Frank have produced their quarterly round up of the office marketplace (ROMP) and Aberdeen takes top spot with over 500,000ft² of deals undertaken in Q2, only just short of the total for last year!  The Aberdeen office market has been looking very strong of late and the take up has been increasing steadily since around 2009 an achievement in itself.

With some recent interest in the Aberdeen marketplace ourselves, it will make for interesting viewing to see if this trend will continue and, if so, how will it be serviced?

James Alexander Consultants are expert in assessing your portfolio and, with you, determining a strategy to develop the correct balance of assets, their relevance and performance for you.  We develop, plan and implement the strategy, leaving you to focus on core activity and opportunity.

eMail us on innovation@jaltd.co.uk or see our contact page for our numbers.  We look forward to speaking with you.

The value of Commercial Property

The commercial property marketplace in the UK continues to struggle in the current economic climate.  The first 6 months of 2012 show a downturn again and the outlook to be less that favourable.  We posted recently about regional shopping centre acquisitions and it is of note that the survey shows overall values in the sector down by 6.3% in the first 6 months of the year.

There has been a slight up turn in the office sector which, particularly in central London, has shown minor growth.  It is of note that the general trends in the office sector are in a downward direction, in terms of occupancy requirements.  New working methods, including the much heralded opportunity to work from home (how many organisations are getting that one wrong, I think we will have a posting on that subject alone in the near future?) and a changing workforce demographic are all factors that would suggest a downturn in demand could, over time, lead to a diminishing in values.  However, limitations in the availability of funding for new development, the shaky perception of the market in general, the continuing trend for conversion from commercial to residential in parts of Mayfair and the West End combined with the requirements for organisations to develop and implement ever more strict environment and sustainability plans mean that the limitations on supply are bolstering the current marketplace.

Where this will go in future is very much up for discussion.  The standard institutional lease is still alive and well and living a life under a new identity.  In this new guise, there are more opportunities for prospective tenants to negotiate with the landlord from a position of strength and as such a stronger model for occupancy is being introduced.  Watch for further development in the process.

For those with a strong nerve and deep pockets, taking advantage of the current market where values of freehold are potentially at their most advantageous to the acquirer, entering the commercial property sector in any form could be seen as the move to make.  Carefully selected and prepared, commercial sector investment now and held over the long term could be just the thing.

Olympic Efficiency

In April we posted about new working methods and achieving efficiencies in the working office (http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5846477312477271059#editor/target=post;postID=2402608171377203908).

We now learn that Government departments are taking steps to implement new ways of working to create flexibility, cost efficient and improved productivity.  It appears that numbers of civil servants will be relocating, on a temporary basis, from central London to a base in Croydon.

The move is being championed as an opportunity for central government to implement some of the more efficient practices of the private sector whilst also “helping to reduce pressure on London’s transport network during the Olympics” according to Cabinet Office Minister, Francis Maude. 

It is not certain whether this move is purely temporary, as, if the hoped for improvements are achieved then a more permanent solution could be found.  It has long been the stated goal of Central Government to move more of it’s London based activity out into the regions.  Spearheaded by the Government Property Unit, opportunities for estates rationalisation and collaboration by Departments are promoted.  Opportunities for interdepartmental estate rationalisation and co-location are continually being pursued and this latest Olympics based initiative has seen additional accommodation become available in St Leonard’s on Sea, Bedford, Dorking

and Reading.

Review the Asset Base

James Alexander Consultants are helping bring clarity to the challenges the asset portfolio’s of their clients bring.  Determining the relevance your owned or leased assets has to your business and its long term effect is fundamental to ensuring you have the correct profile in place.  Planning and managing the utilisation of those assets and their place in your business is our speciality.

James Alexander Consultants are expert in assessing your portfolio and, with you, determining a strategy to develop the correct balance of assets, their relevance and performance for you.  We develop, plan and implement the strategy, leaving you to focus on core activity and opportunity.

Our focus is to maximise the opportunity your built and land assets brings to your business whilst minimising the liabilities.  Get in touch with us to see how we can help you address lease related problems, acquisitions or disposals and help bring your portfolio into line for your business needs.

eMail us on innovation@jaltd.co.uk or see our contact page for our numbers.  We look forward to speaking with you.

Take Stock of the situation

The commercial property sector is to come under further pressure during 2012 in the light of the current economic climate and the uncertain times ahead for the Euro Zone.  Both rental and capital values started to show sign of weakening during the Q4 last year and are expected to continue to decline during 2012 as the continuing uncertainty over the future of the British recovery continues.  Tough market conditions in the retail sector have led to have affected high streets across the country.  Even the usually resilient London market is starting to show significant stress with rental levels and capital values starting to decline as the number of potential transactions slows.

However, all is not lost!  With the decline in value for the landlord comes the increase in opportunity for the tenant.  Now is the ideal time to undertake a comprehensive review of all your lease and occupancy arrangements.

·                     Are you able to exercise any lease breaks?

·                     Are any leases up for rent review?

·                     Are you holding over?

·                     Have your business needs changed?

·                     Is your occupancy at the optimum?

·                     Could you place any non essential requirements in better value accommodation?

·                     Is there an opportunity to outsource activities?

Every cloud has a silver lining, see what lies behind this one for your business.

Innovation@jaltd.co.uk

Olympic Gold!!

Our friends at MoveHut (www.movehut.co.uk) have an interesting insight on the impact the London Olympics is having on commercial lettings.  Jodee Redmond blogs:

“With the anticipated influx of visitors expected during the upcoming Olympic Games in London, space is at a premium. Landlords, including commercial property ones, are getting creative to help meet the demand for space. Temporary tenants are not being especially picky at present, and landlords are prepared to rent out all available space during the Games.

The city of London is expecting 11 million fans, athletes and sponsors to arrive in what is already Europe’s second-most crowded city next month. The huge increase in population means there is an increased demand for temporary shops to carry clothing, souvenirs and other items, as well as storage facilities. Media outlets require good vantage points for television cameras, which means landlords have the opportunity to make some money from what had previously been nothing more than dead space.

The Games will run from 27 July – 12 August. Homeowners who have space to rent have already anticipated the increased demand for space by increasing their asking price by up to six times the normal rate. Commercial landlords are also increasing the rates of their asking prices.

In Beijing and Athens, events were either held in outlying areas or neighbourhoods were demolished to create venues specifically for the Games. Most of the sites where events will be held during the London Summer Olympics are in built-up areas.

A former limestone quarry near the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent, southeast England is being offered for hire to contractors looking for temporary staff accommodation during the Games. The site is located close to a high-speed rail link, which means that anyone staying there can travel to the Olympic Stadium in Stratford in a very reasonable 30 minutes.

Empty shops are in high demand in anticipation of the Games, and ones which are situated close to popular shopping areas like Oxford Street and Covent Garden do not last long. Retailers are arranging to rent these spaces to open temporary shops to sell items like high-end clothing during the Games. Depending on the size of the space and its location, landlords are charging anywhere from a few hundred to £20,000 to rent a store which may be open anywhere from one day to two weeks.

The closer an available building is to the Olympic Park, the more a landlord will be able to charge for rent during the Games. Rather than thinking about what the space is currently used for, now is the time for commercial property owners to be creative about what they can offer a prospective tenant and how much occupying the space would be worth during the 2012 Summer Olympics.”

Not sure about that 11 million figure, but we know a lot of people are coming and the opportunities for property owners in the east of London are significant.

Anyone fancy taking August off!!

See the original blog here: http://bit.ly/MXgL6T

Innovate:

Changing times call for ever more thoughtful approaches to your asset management challenges.  The current marketplace within commercial property is even more volatile than usual, and, whilst geography plays its part, the general view of the marketplace is that conditions are hard and likely to be so for the forthcoming time.

Spending time in careful consideration of the challenge this places on your business with regard to your built assets and liabilities is therefore well worth it.  In a previous post we have talked about the place within your business the build estate holds and the opportunity for the review and assessment of the estate in the light of this.

Detailed knowledge of your real estate liabilities will enable you to clearly plan ahead and, in conjunction with you business requirements, determine whether there are any opportunities to do things differently.

There may be scope to reorganise finances through the asset and balance sheet, to renegotiate terms with your landlord or reorganise loans on freehold occupancy.  Assessment of the utilised estate and how it could be improved, could allow for sub-letting (should the terms of the lease allow).  Group companies can potentially co-locate to reduce costs and vacating premises can save costs, even if the lease is still in force, with running and occupancy costs reduced to near nil and the potential for rates relief.

James Alexander Consultants are expert in assessing your portfolio and, with you, determining a strategy to develop the correct balance of assets, their relevance and performance for you.  We develop, plan and implement the strategy, leaving you to focus on core activity and opportunity.

eMail us on innovation@jaltd.co.uk or see our contact page for our numbers.  We look forward to speaking with you.

An Alternative to the commercial lease?:

A new entry into the serviced office category will open this month.  Dryland Business Club on Kensington High Street will provide high end service options for those not wishing to take on the rigours of a commercial property lease, with flexible arrangements to suit a variety of usage profiles.

Offering very high standards of accommodation, service and facilities, including usage of a chauffer driven Maserati Quattroporte, the new complex is the first of a string of centre being developed by former Foxtons boss, Jon Hunt.  Mr Hunt is bringing a new approach to the serviced office sector by making the facility more attractive to those who require the convenience of a London a base, without maintaining the commensurate overhead.  Packages start from £139 per month.

The services office sector has been progressing well for many years, with many seeing Regus as the flagbearer, and many smaller players coming into the market to address the requirements of the SME and sole trader.  From the look and style of the Kensington High Street Dryland is aiming at the entrepreneur for whom a prestige address in the West End without the hassle of running the offices themselves.  When fully occupied the facility will return approx. double the rent that could be expected under a normal rental arrangement, so not all bad!!

A second facility is expected to come on stream in Holborn at a later date.

New Working Practices:

We may have said this before, but after staff costs, the cost of the occupied estate is the next biggest expense for any organisation.

The adoption of new working practices can provide organisations with the opportunity to reduce space related overheads, as well as provide staff with options on how their work life is organised.  The opportunities to reduce the cost overhead involved in accommodation for operations are many and varied.  Their suitability for deployment is, amongst other things, dependent upon the individual circumstances of each organisation, these are not one size fits all solutions.

• Footprint:  keeping in mind the essential means of escape routes consider whether the personal footprint could be reduced.  It is recommended that 11m³ per person is achieved, but the reduction of the furniture footprint (smaller workstations) is one way which could help. 

• Working away from the Office:  technological development now means that providing essential staff with the means for mobile communication is within reach of all organisations. This does not work for all job functions and should not be taken as a wholesale opportunity to close the office, but those who are out of the office more than they are in do not, generally, need workstations.

• Technology: developments also mean that less equipment is required to provide desk top solutions for staff, coupled to a reduction in workstation size leads to smaller footprint.  Printing and photocopying devices are now available with much smarter interfaces and options.

• Maximise: have you ever wondered why the meeting and conference rooms are empty for most of the time?  Rethink the strategy and maximise usage, software packages exist to help with this.

• Open Plan:  it’s not new to suggest going down the open plan route, but think about doing away with personal offices.  Research has shown that by careful space planning, suitable provision of meeting rooms, spaces and break out areas the need for personal offices is significantly diminished.

James Alexander Consultants can help you find your way through to the best solution to your accommodation needs.

eMail us on innovation@jaltd.co.uk or see our contact page for our numbers.  We look forward to speaking with you.

Business Impact:

Does your present portfolio of occupied accommodation have a positive or negative impact on the day to day activities of your business?  It can often be the case that businesses continue to occupy and operate out of facilities long after those facilities have served their useful purpose. 

Technological change, production developments, businesses processes and changed working practices can often leave the bricks and mortar way behind in terms of usefulness to the business.  But it’s not always easy to make the change and relocate.  There are many considerations; some more tangible than others and not all business owners are able to face up to them.  It could be that the lease still has time to run, or the Company has a long standing history at the location and it is loath to break that link.  Remodelling and reworking of the workspace may be a possibility, but what if the amount of space or its geographical location is unsuitable?   

Core business activity is the key, after all, the real estate is only there to serve the business purpose, so the questions to ask revolve around the key drivers and performance indicators in the business and their ability to be achieved.  Assessment and analysis of the built environment together with the business plan and programme will help determine whether your facilities are supporting your business or the other way round.

James Alexander Consultants are expert in assessing your portfolio and, with you, determining a strategy to develop the correct balance of assets, their relevance and performance for you.  We develop, plan and implement the strategy, leaving you to focus on core activity and opportunity.

eMail us on innovation@jaltd.co.uk or see our contact page for our numbers.  We look forward to speaking with you.

More news from the Pharma front:

It is understood that Allergan, the international healthcare and pharmaceutical company has commenced a search for new headquarters in the Thames Valley.  Currently located at Marlow’s International business park Allergan are said to be considering suitable accommodation in the, Reading, High Wycombe, Slough, Bracknell and Uxbridge areas. 

U is for...

Utilisation:

Utilisation of your space, that is.  Efficient space utilisation within an organisation can have a number of positive knock on effects.  There are the more obvious ones, those promoting operational efficiency and production and also those relating to staff wellbeing and personal growth.

The most radical change in the office based working environment in recent years has been the shift from individual working to collaborative working.  The practice of colleagues coming together to work for parts of the day in formal or informal work groups, far beyond the understanding of “meetings” has been on the rise.

Responding to this by addressing the look and feel of the office workplace has been a key step forward in both the promotion of the new styles of working and also the opportunity to contain and possibly reduce the cost base for the business.

Utilisation improvements can be brought about by the application of a number of techniques and principles, all designed to improve take up and application of spatial usage.

• Footprint:  keeping in mind the essential means of escape routes consider whether the personal footprint could be reduced.  It is recommended that 11m³ per person is achieved, but the reduction of the furniture footprint (smaller workstations) is one way which could help. 

• Working away from the Office:  technological development now means that providing essential staff with the means for mobile communication is within reach of all organisations. This does not work for all job functions and should not be taken as a wholesale opportunity to close the office, but those who are out of the office more than they are in do not, generally, need workstations.

• Technology: developments also mean that less equipment is required to provide desk top solutions for staff, coupled to a reduction in workstation size leads to smaller footprint.  Printing and photocopying devices are now available with much smarter interfaces and options.

• Maximise: have you ever wondered why the meeting and conference rooms are empty for most of the time?  Rethink the strategy and maximise usage, software packages exist to help with this.

• Open Plan:  it’s not new to suggest going down the open plan route, but think about doing away with personal offices.  Research has shown that by careful space planning, suitable provision of meeting rooms, spaces and break out areas the need for personal offices is significantly diminished.

James Alexander Consultants can help you find your way through to the best solution to your accommodation needs.

eMail us on innovation@jaltd.co.uk or see our contact page for our numbers.  We look forward to speaking with you.

P is for...

Planning & Strategy:

Occupying business premises is no laughing matter.  The costs involved can be significant and the penalties, should you get it wrong, can be severe.

Having said that, the opportunity for it to go well is significant!  Like all property transactions in the UK (well England and Wales anyway!) the pace of movement is usually somewhere akin to that of the proverbial snail.  Lease break clauses do (should) not usually sneak up on you, they are telegraphed well ahead of time (when the lease is signed?).  So the opportunities for you to plan aspects of your estates strategy are easily able to be recognised and addressed.  However, that is not the whole picture.  Not all elements are so easily planned.  As we have said many times before, the real estate only exists to support your core activity, it’s there to help you to produce your widgets or build your social media empire or whatever.

And (yes, you can start a sentence with and) that’s where the challenge comes.

Planning a strategy to match your real estate occupancy to your business’s operational requirements is not too difficult in principle, but will throw up some very challenging questions to you and your colleagues.  I was with a client recently and the discussion revolved around the business’s requirement to relocate to larger operating premises, the availability, or lack of, suitable prospects in the locality and the impact a more significant geographical move to achieve the right accommodation could have on the business in terms of the potential for the loss of key staff.  An interesting conundrum and one that the jury is still out on.

Size, location, mix, usage and cost will all play a part in developing a coherent strategy for real estate and the activity should be undertaken with the same thoroughness that is applied to the operational aspects of the business.

James Alexander Consultants can help you find your way through to the best solution to your accommodation needs.

eMail us on innovation@jaltd.co.uk or see our contact page for our numbers.  We look forward to speaking with you.

O is for...

Outsourcing:

Non core activities outsourced, not a news topic you may say, but how far does this extend within your organisation?  The opportunity to outsource these types of non core activity has increased in recent times.  You are probably familiar with the “run of the mill” in outsourcing, from catering to waste management, office supplies to ICT.  But what about the outsourcing of your HR activity?  Or payroll?

The opportunity to bring in specialist services without the requirement to employ these on a full time basis is one of the backbones of the outsourcing principle.  Another is the opportunity to access specialist advice on non core activity, advice which would otherwise be expensive to maintain on an in-house basis.

The increase in legislation surrounding employment has seen a rise in the opportunity for SMEs (small to medium sized enterprises) to bring in specialist consultants and providers to keep them on the right side of employment law and up to date with current staffing requirements.

Similarly, there are opportunities for occupiers to get help with their accommodation and real estate services.  Many larger occupiers will have provision in place, but the smaller occupier can seek support with real estate related issues too.  From the outsourcing of facilities management to landlord and tenant issues there are opportunities to seek professional support in ensuring your organisation is fully up to speed.

James Alexander Consultants can help you understand your property, facilities and compliance requirements, leaving you to focus on core activity and opportunity.

eMail us on innovation@jaltd.co.uk or see our contact page for our numbers.  We look forward to speaking with you.

N is for...

New Working Practices:

We may have said this before, but after staff costs, the cost of the occupied estate is the next biggest expense for any organisation.

The adoption of new working practices can provide organisations with the opportunity to reduce space related overheads, as well as provide staff with options on how their work life is organised.  The opportunities to reduce the cost overhead involved in accommodation for operations are many and varied.  Their suitability for deployment is, amongst other things, dependent upon the individual circumstances of each organisation, these are not one size fits all solutions.

• Footprint:  keeping in mind the essential means of escape routes consider whether the personal footprint could be reduced.  It is recommended that 11m³ per person is achieved, but the reduction of the furniture footprint (smaller workstations) is one way which could help. 

• Working away from the Office:  technological development now means that providing essential staff with the means for mobile communication is within reach of all organisations. This does not work for all job functions and should not be taken as a wholesale opportunity to close the office, but those who are out of the office more than they are in do not, generally, need workstations.

• Technology: developments also mean that less equipment is required to provide desk top solutions for staff, coupled to a reduction in workstation size leads to smaller footprint.  Printing and photocopying devices are now available with much smarter interfaces and options.

• Maximise: have you ever wondered why the meeting and conference rooms are empty for most of the time?  Rethink the strategy and maximise usage, software packages exist to help with this.

• Open Plan:  it’s not new to suggest going down the open plan route, but think about doing away with personal offices.  Research has shown that by careful space planning, suitable provision of meeting rooms, spaces and break out areas the need for personal offices is significantly diminished.

James Alexander Consultants can help you find your way through to the best solution to your accommodation needs.

eMail us on innovation@jaltd.co.uk or see our contact page for our numbers.  We look forward to speaking with you.

L is for...

Leasehold:

The occupation of commercial business premises by means of a lease from a private landlord or an institutional lease from a pension fund or similar is a well tried and tested method of getting the real estate you need to undertake your core business activities.

In recent years there has been a movement in the manner in which there leases have come to be drafted with, arguably, more flexibility being driven into the process by market demands.  The days of institutional leases of 25 years, with no breaks and upwards only rent reviews as the norm are probably no more, with the legacy if these practices of the 1980’s and early 1990’s hanging around for a few more years to come.

For most large organisations, the acquisition of new commercial property by this means is a well trodden path which holds no concerns or fears.  For those less experienced, here are my top 5 tips when considering this undertaking:

• Term:  The term of any lease and the potential for breaks (which must be able to be exercised by either party, not just the landlord) in that lease, must align with your organisational business plan over the medium to long term.

• Demise:  Make sure you are clear on what is included and what is excluded in the demise you are considering.  Favourites for unintended inclusion and exclusion are toilets and lifts (elevators for those in the US).  Both of these carry the potential for considerable maintenance and upgrade costs, make sure you know what else you are getting in your square footage!

• Total Costs:  As well as your rent, don’t forget that there will be other costs associated with taking over leasehold space.  Business rates are a given, and can be a significant expenditure item and also make sure you understand what service charge your landlord is proposing to levy and what you get for it.  There may be others too, some landlord are providing other services on an opt in basis, make sure you tick the opt out box if you are not going to use them.

• Legal:  Commercial leases are significant, weighty and binding documents.  Ensure that you have sought, and importantly listened to, professional advice about the lease you are about to enter into.  It is essential that the lawyer that acts for you is a specialist in the field and knows their way around the clauses that will be buried somewhere in the lease, ready to pop up at an inopportune time to cause you problems.

• Alterations, changes and dilapidations:  You have you new lease in place, you may even be enjoying a rent free period to fit it out to your requirements.  Make sure you know whether you need your landlords permission for those works, any subsequent changes, what process that permission will require to achieve and what your liabilities are in respect of dilapidations at the end of the lease.

James Alexander Consultants can help you find your way through to the best solution to your accommodation needs.

eMail us on innovation@jaltd.co.uk or see our contact page for our numbers.  We look forward to speaking with you.

C is for...

Contracts:

Most businesses operate a model whereby significant elements of the business needs are supported by contracted services.  It is possible to outsource just about any element of your “back office” functions and it is almost certain that aspects of your property and facilities activities will encompass some element of contracted service provision.

Your estate and facilities management processes are there to support the core activities of the business and, as such, perform a vital task for you.  It is without doubt that the only time anyone in the business who would count themselves as a customer would notice these services is when there is a problem!

It is therefore most important to ensure that the contracted services you have are fit for purpose, compliant, up to date and relevant.  There have been many instances where contracted service provisions have been allowed to roll over from year to year without a proper review and assessment of the changing requirement, resulting in an imperfect provision and certainly wasted money.  We are all aware of the more usual facilities management services, often bundled up into those unfortunate headings of “hard” and “soft” services (how so?) but the outsourcing of professional services is becoming more and more frequent.  Outsourcing your estate management can mean the difference between being able to do your day job or not. Address the seemingly endless queries from tenants and other occupiers can mean that you do not have the time to undertake those tasks that are actually part of your job description!

James Alexander Consultants are expert in assessing your facilities and estate management service requirements and, with you, determining a strategy to develop the correct balance of contracted and in house services, their relevance and performance for you.  We develop, plan and implement the strategy, leaving you to focus on core activity and opportunity.

eMail us on innovation@jaltd.co.uk or see our contact page for our numbers.  We look forward to speaking with you.

B is for...

Business Impact.

Does your present portfolio of occupied accommodation have a positive or negative impact on the day to day activities of your business?  It can often be the case that businesses continue to occupy and operate out of facilities long after those facilities have served their useful purpose. 

Technological change, production developments, businesses processes and changed working practices can often leave the bricks and mortar way behind in terms of usefulness to the business.  But it’s not always easy to make the change and relocate.  There are many considerations; some more tangible than others and not all business owners are able to face up to them.  It could be that the lease still has time to run, or the Company has a long standing history at the location and it is loath to break that link.  Remodelling and reworking of the workspace may be a possibility, but what if the amount of space or its geographical location is unsuitable?   

Core business activity is the key, after all, the real estate is only there to serve the business purpose, so the questions to ask revolve around the key drivers and performance indicators in the business and their ability to be achieved.  Assessment and analysis of the built environment together with the business plan and programme will help determine whether your facilities are supporting your business or the other way round.

James Alexander Consultants are expert in assessing your portfolio and, with you, determining a strategy to develop the correct balance of assets, their relevance and performance for you.  We develop, plan and implement the strategy, leaving you to focus on core activity and opportunity.

eMail us on innovation@jaltd.co.uk or see our contact page for our numbers.  We look forward to speaking with you.

A is for...

Asset.

After your staffing costs, your built assets, your business’ occupied accommodation, is most likely to represent your biggest cost centre.  Achieving the most efficient and effective usage of your accommodation portfolio is a constant challenge for business and one that, if not managed well, can cause major difficulties and, of course, unnecessary expense.

The opposite of asset is liability.  Many businesses will focus on their real estate in terms of their ability to run their operations; however, not focussing on the whole aspect of their asset responsibilities can lead to difficulties.

Here are my top 5 tips:

1)      Utilisation: Nothing worse than having too much accommodation, unless it’s having too little!  Undertake some assessment and analysis of your occupancy and how well it relates to your core business requirements.

2)      Lease: Have you ever reviewed your lease?  The last time many occupiers will have viewed their lease is when their lawyer was showing them where to sign.  It may be dry, but get a glass, mug or cup of your favourite beverage and have a look through.  You do know where your lease is, don’t you…..?

3)      Liabilities: Following on from Lease, do you know what your liabilities under the lease are?  A lot of companies get caught out with this one.  Insuring and repairing liabilities are onerous and taken very seriousy by the asset owner, your landlord.

4)      Location: Does your business require to be in its current very expensive accommodation?  Could a review of the business objectives, processes and customers reveal that a carefully planned and considered move to less expensive, more flexible accommodation could save your business money?

5)      Contracts: There are, undoubtedly, a large number of contracts keeping your buildings and your business running.  When was the last time these were reviewed, not just for cost but more specifically for suitability and relevance.  You may surprise yourself!

James Alexander Consultants are expert in assessing your portfolio and, with you, determining a strategy to develop the correct balance of assets, their relevance and performance for you.  We develop, plan and implement the strategy, leaving you to focus on core activity and opportunity.

eMail us on innovation@jaltd.co.uk or see our contact page for our numbers.  We look forward to speaking with you.