BUILDING DESIGN &
CONSTRUCTION THE MAGAZINE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
ISSUE 174
ISSUE 174
ALSO INSIDE... TELEREAL TRILLIUM ICAX ALDER KING CET SAFEHOUSE TECKER LIMITED ...PLUS MUCH MORE
BUILDING DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION
EXCITING
TIMES GARETH TANCRED, THE NEW CEO OF BIFM, TALKS TO BDC
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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: ALDER KING
CREATIVE
SOLUTIONS TO COMPLEX ISSUES Alder King is an award winning practice of multi-discipline property and planning consultants. With seven regional offices throughout the South West and South Wales they deliver expert advice on all aspects of commercial property and development land
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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: ALDER KING eing regionally focused and providing a full range of property services has helped Alder King continue to prosper over the last few years while some of its national competitors have faltered. Its property and facilities management activities have carried on growing in a very competitive market. The company celebrated its centenary last year, having adopted its current name about 25 years ago. It operates from a Bristol head office and six other offices throughout the South West of England and South Wales, which is where around 70% of its client work is generated. “We provide pretty much every property consulting service you can think of,” says Andrew Watson, Partner in charge of Management Services. “We deal in asset recovery, building consultancy, commercial agency, development consultancy, investment agency, construction project management, property and facilities management, town and country planning and valuation services” Around 10% of the company's £11.5 million annual turnover comes from its property and facilities management operation. Both are handled by Andrew’s Management Services team and the two come under the same wing because Alder King essentially provides facilities management on its managed properties. It mainly manages tenanted investment properties on behalf of their owners, including shopping centres, business parks, large city centre office buildings and industrial estates. One of its larger clients is communications company Everything Everywhere, for whom it provides a
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property management advisory service on a UK-wide basis and manages some seventy buildings throughout the UK. There is also student accommodation provider UNITE Group, where it has a UK remit on commercial property, plus institutional investors and larger London-based, property companies. SPECIALIST ACTIVITY The property and facilities management activities sit naturally together because they are both providing services to managed properties, as well as supplying individual consultancy services. In fact, as Andrew points out, there's a degree of overlap between the two: “When we pick up a new management contract, we undertake a complete review of the services contracts, which often leads to a re-tendering of those contracts.” Head of Facilities Management, David Greener, continues: “There was a time when management surveyors would deal with contract procurement. However, this became a more specialist field as our client base grew and the size and quality of properties we manage increased. So ten years ago we set up a specialist facilities management team to deal with service contract procurement and management.” Property management is potentially a high risk area because claims will inevitably arise if things go wrong. This emphasises the importance of having specialists in place to run things properly and underlines the need to look closely at each new property and determine what's required. Overall control is helped by property management and facilities management being provided for
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FAIRWAYsupport services Where local comes first!
4Cleaning for over half a million square feet of offices, daily. 4Over 150 cleaners working within the Bristol area, every evening. 4Approved, trained and experienced staff. 4A customer focused management team with monthly quality audits. 4Direct accountability by management with face to face contact meetings. 4A responsible attitude to staff and customers. 4Externally audited health and safety systems. FAIRWAY SUPPORT SERVICES 8 HARBURY ROAD, HENLEAZE, BRISTOL, BS9 4PL TEL: 0117 962 1444 / 0117 962 1333 FAX: 0117 962 1999 EMAIL: info@fairwaybristolcleaning.co.uk WEB: www.fairwaybristolcleaning.co.uk
0800 328 0332
Established in 1996, ELITE SECURITY remains a privately owned security organisation with full ACS accreditation. Very much a family based company, ELITE SECURITY has built its reputation on hard work and disciplined service delivery. Our aim is to provide realistic security solutions to all our customers ensuring we remain flexible to the ever changing needs of our clients.
Sales@EliteSecurityGroup.co.uk
Channel Communications are a leading supplier of telecoms solutions, Over the past twenty five years, Channel has built a solid and lasting reputation for the design, implementation and support of telecoms solutions that meet the real business needs and deliver proven call handling benefits. We have specialist expertise in a variety of areas and have strategic alliances with some of the most significant suppliers in the telecoms market, including Aastra, Mitel, LG and Avaya. Such alliances, combined with our experience in the telecoms field and our extensive telecoms skills and knowledge, allow us to create bespoke solutions that precisely target our customer needs. Channel Communications understand the challenges faced by a company when choosing a new telephone system for their business and have been helping companies for over 25 years. From the point of deciding that you are going to replace your system we can advise and help in the following areas: 4 We can retain existing telephone & fax numbers 4 Supply & install new telephone systems 4 Flexible financing options available 4 Ordering & installation of all types of telephone lines 4 The best type of Internet connections available 4 Dedicated account management for all of your communication needs 4 We support and maintain all our solutions
>Security Guarding >Keyholding & Alarm Response >Mobile Patrols >CCTV >Vacant Building Inspections Cherry Orchard West, Kembrey Park, Swindon SN2 8UP Web: www.EliteSecurityGroup.co.uk
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Channel Communications Services Ltd. Channel House, Macrae Road Eden Office Park, Bristol BS20 0DD Tel: 01275 376700 Fax: 01275 376701 Email: sales@channelcomms.co.uk Web: www.channelcomms.co.uk
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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: ALDER KING
the same property. The former aims to optimise investment performance for the building owner while the latter activity fulfils the owner’s obligations by providing contracted services to the tenants. The extent of the services provided is often dictated by the lease, which will set out a schedule of landlord's obligations and services to be provided. That determines the minimum to be complied with but other services are often provided in the interests of good estate management. Again, risk management may determine what services are actually provided. “If a client didn’t want us to maintain certain aspects of the site, we would look at any consequential risk and advise our clients accordingly,” remarks David. “We always look to reduce risk and achieve best practice when maintaining a building and its services. Maintaining the assets in accordance with current maintenance standards, manufacturers’ recommendations and best practice can reduce risk and prolong the life of the asset. The result is less capital outlay for both the client and occupier’s client; it will also assist in enhancing the image perceived by others”.
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In reality, it's something of a balancing act because tenants want a well-maintained building but they also want it at the least cost, which means keeping the service charges down. This can result in a wide variation in service charges, depending on whether building facilities are up-to-date or if there's a major replacement programme underway. “That's why planned maintenance is a better option than reactive,” comments Andrew. “You can spread the cost and you’re avoiding years of lumpy service charges”
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COMPETITIVE TENDERING Alder King keeps service charges as low as possible by ensuring costs are competitive for every property. David says: “We always look to provide the highest levels of service for our clients and occupiers whilst demonstrating value has been achieved. We do this by setting the standards and produce our own form of contract and service specification, which is often bespoke for each property and service. We go through a formal tender process for each
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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: ALDER KING
service discipline and always invite a minimum of three pre-approved suppliers. Only after a full and thorough financial and technical evaluation is the successful party appointed.� Each of the suppliers, he confirms, goes through a thorough approvals process before becoming an approved supplier, with performance being regularly monitored: “Every supplier will complete a standard proforma that is reviewed by the head of department and then, if recommended, is signed off by a partner. That will cover many things, including capabilities, health and safety, insurances and references. As a minimum, we will complete a supplier performance review every twelve months, although performance is always being monitored throughout the duration of the works.
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“We always do regular performance reviews anyway, especially on some of the larger sites. We’ll conduct quarterly review meetings and, as part of the process, we’ll do a technical audit that will be based on the service specification that we produced. These audits can go to quite some depth, with a score given against each of the services so they can be graded red, amber or green. If suppliers don’t achieve over a certain standard, we look to start removing them from the list.”
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Removal isn't a frequent process nor one that's entered into readily because the aim is to create positive working relationships with suppliers. Unhappy suppliers tend to cause unhappiness among occupiers and clients, so Alder King avoids this by working with them, using the audit process as a means of focusing on areas that need to be improved. Depending on the nature of the work, this generally continues during the term of the contract. It’s only in extreme cases, when every-
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The Complete Solution
Fullcircle is a leading provider within the facilities management and building industries, with a service offering including: building, grounds maintenance, landscaping, electrical work, security, specialist cleaning and water & ventilation hygiene. Through professional and efficient management, we aim to provide complete solutions to the built environment.
Building Design & Fit Out Electrical Facilities Management Grounds Maintenance Internal Landscaping Pest Control Reactive Maintenance Security Window & Specialist Cleaning Water & Ventilation Hygiene
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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: ALDER KING
At CSS we believe in smarter solutions CSS is a support services company specialising in the delivery of office, commercial cleaning and support services. We are a regional business providing a first class service to customers throughout Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Sussex, Berkshire and Surrey. Through our professional approach we have built an enviable reputation for commercial cleaning excellence, value for money and customer service. We operate across a wide range of businesses in both the public and private sectors along with our core services of office, commercial cleaning and window cleaning. We can also offer an extensive range of Support Services. At CSS we work closely with our clients to ensure that we fully meet their requirements. We are agile and respond swiftly to requests and resolve issues in a timely manner. We operate low emission vehicles, utilise environmentally friendly products and materials and promote recycling as part of our daily business
SWINDON
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NEWCASTLE
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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: ALDER KING thing possible has been done but has failed to turn the situation around, that there will be a parting of company with the supplier. With an increasing emphasis on environmental matters, suppliers are expected to have attained or be working towards ISO 14001. Additionally, they need to be using materials from sustainable sources and to demonstrate they are energy efficient. Aside from the day-to-day running of the properties, facilities management also deals with projects as they occur, covering periodic refurbishments and other required work. Again, the dual roles of property management and facilities management mean balancing the needs of building owners against those of the tenants. This is generally helped by having an on-going dialogue with both parties, which is particularly vital in today's economic climate. TENANT MANAGEMENT “Tenant management has warranted increased focus in recent years,” comments Andrew. “There are an increasing number of tenants with cash flow difficulties, which creates a variety of management issues. We are having to nurse some tenants through difficult times by way of rent concessions, phased payment agreements and other means. Obviously, we’re trying to retain tenants and income because it’s a difficult letting market and we prefer not to take space back if we can help it.” Maintaining income and occupation levels is crucial but is simplified by having daily contact with
the tenants. This in turn, as Andrew points out, is helped by Alder King's facilities management role: “We have daily contact with many of them through our facilities management help desk, which deals predominantly with minor repair issues coming in from tenants of buildings we manage. On the shopping centres we manage, we usually have monthly tenant meetings to discuss a whole variety of issues that can include marketing, management, service contracts and others.” SPACE REQUIREMENTS In today’s challenging markets, the space requirements of tenant businesses are constantly changing. A regular dialogue is essential, therefore, to assess tenant's future intentions and provide the right space for different businesses as their needs change. “Under normal market conditions, some businesses grow and need expansion space,” explains David. “The idea is to try to keep them in the building rather than them having to move on because they can’t get enough space. “At the moment, we are more often faced with contracting businesses, so we have to keep an eye on and manage what they’re doing. If a company ends up with too much space, is still under a lease and is struggling to pay the rent, we might take some back off them to reduce their rental liability and then try to re-let that residual space. It has become a much more difficult job over the last few years to maintain occupancy and income as well as trying to maintain the buildings.”
Ensuring continuity of occupancy is an important element of successful property management and this applies even when tenant's space needs remain constant. When leases are coming up to expiry, sometimes with two to three years left, there may be early discussions with tenants to persuade them to take extended leases so that income streams are maintained. This might involve financial incentives to renew leases early because that helps the value of the investments. In shopping centres, Alder King will often manage the marketing process, appointing marketing consultants who are paid for through the service charge. It's also important to ensure a balanced mix of retailers as tenants, which is a very important aspect of asset management. NEW BUSINESS Overall, Alder King's wide range of property services has delivered success for the company, including it winning the Estates Gazette's Most Active Agent in the South West award for the last eleven years. “By strengthening all our business areas, we’ve survived this difficult period pretty well,” comments Andrew. “The Property and Facilities management business has carried on growing in a very competitive area in terms of new business, and we have won some of our best instructions during the last two to three years.” www.alderking.com Tel: 0117 3171000
FRESH THINKING from experienced gardeners BALI 2011 Award Winners Nurture Landscapes work with Alder King to improve the working environment.
Better by working together
gardeners who care
Nurture Landscapes Ltd Nursery Court, London Road Windlesham, Surrey GU20 6LQ info@nurturelandscapes.co.uk www.nurturelandscapes.co.uk
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