Z is for...

Zzzzzzz…..

And so, as this series of blog posts for the challenge ends, time for a final, brief reflection on the exercise.

This has proven to be both stimulating and, living up to its name, challenging.  The topics, the scope, the timing, the depth of the posts all considerations serving to examine the opportunity a well as the style.

Well, normal service will be resumed from May and we will continue to report on news and views from the commercial property world.

We hope you have enjoyed our blog.

Y is for...

You can get in touch at any time:

James Alexander Consultants are keen to help you with your property, real estate and asset management challenges.  Please get in touch to see where we can add value to your business.

020 8948 4242

07768 255283

innovation@jaltd.co.uk

www.jaltd.co.uk

@jaltdproperty

X is for...

Xenium:

Which is, as we all know, a gift or present given to a visitor and we hope you will have found something in these posts that has entertained, engaged or informed you.

W is for...

We’re nearly at the end of the A to Z Challenge: 

After nearly a month the blogging

challenge draws

towards a conclusion.

V is for...

Valuations:

The valuation of a property is usually directly related to its market value and this is where the art, some would say dark art, of the valuation comes into its own.  The purpose of a valuation will have a direct influence on its outcome and therefore has to be specific to the requirement.

Valuations may be undertaken for many purposes including:

• Mortgage finance -
• Acquisition
• Sale
• Probate
• Litigation
• Leasehold Enfranchisement
• Property development
• loan security valuations
• asset and fund valuations
• valuations for accounts purposes
• retrospective valuations
• development appraisals
• valuations for corporate owners and occupiers. 

and more……

As with any subjective view of a situation, in this instance the market value of an asset, there exists the opportunity for dipute and disagreement.  In any situation whereby someone is seeking to prove a value, another party will be seeking to disprove it.  It is therefore vital that not only do you commission the correct valuation for the correct purpose but also that you commission it from a surveyor with relevant and in depth experience.

James Alexander Consultants can help you determine the best approach to valuations of your asset base and get the right surveying team in place.

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

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.

T is for...

The Challenge:

I thought I would write a brief post regarding the A t Z Challenge today.  What started out as a good idea and a bit of fun has turned out to be more challenging than I imagined and the time required to undertake it more demanding.

The A to Z Blogging Challenge started in 2010, setting a challenge to all Bloggers to, for the month of April, post every day except Sundays during the month, Blogging on a themed topic from A to Z.  26 letters, 26 days.  There are over 1,700 signed up officially to the challenge along with, I suspect, many others like me who are participating from the sidelines.

It has certainly not always been easy to keep the schedule up and there have been the odd days where a letter may have slipped, to be caught up later. The time pressure has also meant an interesting internal conversation regarding that which has to be written, but all in all a very interesting exercise and, I can now see why it is so named, challenge!

With 6 letters left, including several tricky ones, the challenge is still on.