Birmingham property experts King Sturge is drawing on its
success with the public sector to deliver results through strategic
property reviews for commercial clients.
Andrew Higgs head of building consultancy at King Sturge
explains: "As the recession continues commercial organisations are
reviewing their cost base and property is likely to be one of the
most expensive overheads. This problem is compounded by
letting staff go, leaving excess space that needs to be addressed
strategically as part of a comprehensive property review.
This is an established service that we have been providing for
many years to the public sector as they often have diverse property
portfolios, all of different ages and conditions and frequently in
different geographic locations. In these circumstances
assessing how the properties are utilised and looking ahead to
evaluate future business needs and what their property requirements
are to meet these needs is essential."
"Commercial companies do not have to have a huge estate to
benefit from this process. Any organisation that occupies more than
one site or a property company that has a portfolio should be
undertaking this exercise to maximise their assets and keep their
business in shape during the downturn. "
Car dealerships and business parks are just two of the many
businesses from outside the public sector that have recently
undertaken a strategic property review with King Sturge.
The process is complex, especially when the firm carrying out
the review has to call in different specialists to deal with
specific areas of expertise. However, King Sturge is able to
offer all of the necessary disciplines from within and therefore
offer a cost effective service. Departments such as lease
consultancy, valuation and development all have an input and for
mixed portfolios, residential and planning advice is also on hand.
This one-stop shop approach also makes for a more defined and
easily digestible report on completion making it easier for the
client to select a preferred solution.
The valuation department has recently worked with building
consultancy to carry out a review of a number of leisure centres
for Walsall Council. The values of the sites were assessed
alongside a condition survey with refurbishment costs, This
information has enabled Walsall to consider how best to continue to
provide the leisure services that the local community needs and how
best to fund these services given the economic downturn and the
severe pressure that they and other local authorities are
experiencing from funding cuts.
The demise of the Learning and Skills Council funding has also
seen King Sturge complete strategic reviews for five further
education colleges to help them appraise their property strategies
now that there is no longer the budgets available to draw from.
A strategic review will usually begin with an assessment of
current business needs and a projection forward to anticipate what
they will be in the future. This will be followed by an
analysis of the properties, what is owned or leased and what
condition is it currently in. A prediction for future
maintenance and life cycle costs is very important at this stage as
is the need to take detailed valuation advice. Once all of this
information has been collated a gap analysis can be carried out to
assess what is needed and what isn't so that the available options
can then be considered.
It may be tempting for companies to want to find a quick fix to
their current problems and try to find the easiest and quickest way
to save costs. However investing the time and money required
to take a more detailed strategic overview that looks ahead for at
least three to five years makes good business sense. The cost
of carrying out the review can often be recouped by finding that
surplus property can be disposed of or by realising that a site has
a greater value because it has potential for a higher value
development.