BDC Magazine - Residential Property Management Special

Residential Property Management Special CRABTREE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT KINLEIGH FOLKARD & HAYWARD SDL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT THE RINGLEY GROUP RENDALL & RITTNER

JANUARY 2019 ISSUE 254

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BUILDING DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION MAGAZINE

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Also Inside:

ALUCRAFT KNIGHT FRANK SAM DRYLINING

WE REVIEW

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SECTION FEATURE

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CLIENT MONEY PROTECTION SCHEME LAUNCHED TO PROTECT LEASEHOLDERS With around £1.3 billion in unprotected client funds being held by UK managing agents according to calculations by ARMA (the Association of Residential Managing Agents), there is a clear need for greater protection of leaseholders’ money. Now ARMA has launched a first of its kind CMP (Client Money Protection) insurance policy in partnership with NFU Mutual, exclusively available to ARMA members.

CMP schemes are expected to become compulsory for managing agents in the near future but compared to lettings agents, for whom CMP will be mandatory from April 2019, similar regulation for managing agents has lagged behind. However, given that the sums held by property managers are significantly larger than those held by lettings agents, the need for client protection is all the more pressing.

On average, property managers hold £6.2 million in leaseholder money and larger firms could be holding in excess of £100m, whereas the average letting agency holds around £500,000 at any one time. Money held is made up of clients’ service charges and reserve and sinking funds, all held in trust in individual client accounts. It is estimated that 40% of all managing agents have no CMP in place, meaning that money would not be insured should theft or misappropriation take place.

Now ARMA is offering its members the first CMP policy designed specifically for the block management sector offered through NFU Mutual, underwritten by multinational insurance group RSA. Previously the only CMP schemes available were levy schemes, where payments from all members are held in a central pot, from which money for any claim is paid out, meaning cover for all members is suspended when the pot runs out. In creating a policy backed by a large and respected insurance company, ARMA hopes to bring long-term peace of mind to property managers and leaseholders.

Dr Nigel Glen, CEO of ARMA comments: “Given the large sums of money that property managers are dealing with having adequate cover is vital, which is why it was important that we found a CMP solution that was fit for purpose. The current CMP schemes are not designed to offer the level of protection required within our sector. We are pleased to introduce a straightforward and cost-effective CMP policy so that ARMA members can get ahead of the curve and ensure they have protection in place before legislation comes in. We want all managing agents and leaseholders to have confidence that their money is safe.”

Over the past year ARMA has been proactively lobbying government on CMP and the benefits that making it mandatory will bring to everyone in the residential block management sector.

For more information, contact ARMA today on 020 7978 2607 email info@arma.ork uk, or vist the website: www.arma.org.uk BUILDING DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION MAGAZINE

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RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT KINLEIGH FOLKARD & HAYWARD

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RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT KINLEIGH FOLKARD & HAYWARD

Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward (KFH) is an organisation which has been going from strength to strength over a period of over 40 years of service.

A leading estate agency and property service provider to the London Market, Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward (KFH) is an organisation which has been going from strength to strength over a period of over 40 years of service. Over this period, the company has increasingly developed a reputation as being one of the most reliable and reputable providers of management services in London, where quality management can be the difference between property success and a commercial liability. This has naturally led to the company expanding to its present position as an organisation of significant enough scale to handle a large portfolio of properties in the London market, but remain small enough to provide a more personable service to clients/.

Although KFH has been able to grow quite exponentially over the years, it has also done so in a very sustainable and responsible fashion. Straying away from rapid expansion measures such as the acquisition of rival businesses and pushing beyond the boundaries of the London market into the wider UK, the organisation’s commercial growth has naturally been at more of a fashionable pace. What’s important, however, is what this has meant for the structure of the business. By growing at a sustainable pace, KFH has been able to maintain much of its unique identity and personal touch, as well as specialise in the London property market whilst other key competitors have become too distracted in looking at the big, national property picture.

Under the hood of KFH, individuals can find the complete spectrum of property services, market insight, and expertise. For now, we’ll be looking at the block and portfolio management portion of the KFH business, as a key area which has been growing exponentially for the company. At present, the business currently maintains some 15,000 units within its block management portfolio, with a further 1,000-2,000 units predicted to be landing on the firm’s books within the next year. These properties are a mixed bag of both new and existing developments, as well as different forms of ownership.

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RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT KINLEIGH FOLKARD & HAYWARD

Where KFH has really come into its own over recent years is in the structuring and management of communication. With communication being considered an essential factor in not only serving the customer, but also in developing a relationship with them, significant time has been invested into making sure that communication is frequent, fluent, but also not overbearing. This has led the organisation to develop a multi-faceted approach to the accessibility of important property information as well as communication between the property manager and owners, or residents.

Looking at the first aspect of this strategy, KFH has been looking to digitalise much of its inspection and management processes to try and make information more easily communicated between internal teams, as well as onto the client. All of the important documentation from these processes is then made available through dedicated portals run by KFH so that

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the organisation doesn’t need to bombard individuals with information, but it is also wholly available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days per year. This is what we consider to be the “transparency and accessibility” aspect being pushed.

To learn more about this, we spoke with Richard Benson, Managing Director, Block and Portfolio Management, who explained: “We like to communicate with our clients. For example, every time our property managers go to site, they have their own iPads and inspection app that shows the start time and finish time, which is bespoke for every block. We know how many entrances it has, if it has a gym, a swimming pool, and whatever it might be. It’s designed with our IT division so that when the property manager arrives at the site, they can click start, walk around the whole building taking photographs, type or dictate into it, and at the end it will provide a glossy inspection report.

“It’s great from our client’s point of view. It proves that we’ve been there and that we’re doing a good job. We also have various portals of communication, so we can send out communication to all the residents who have registered their emails with us, vote on various things such as the colours of the walls, pay and view their service charges online, report a problem, monitor works orders, and more.

We even have a supplier portal where they can monitor their work and invoices, as well as a health and safety portal.”

He went on to continue: “We also have an app where we work with our directors. If you take a traditional block of flats, if you’ve got 25 tasks to do for that particular block (whether that’s discussing finances, rebuilding a brick wall, external decorations, or whatever it might be), traditionally it would all be done via email, excel spreadsheet or board meetings. We have an app that we operate that takes all that data onto the app. They press a button on their phone or pc, and they can see the chat between the property manager and directors, as well as all the documentation…. They can see all the discussions around a brick wall if you like, the quotations submitted, what’s happening, what the contractor is doing, photographs, and conclusions on that point.

“What that does is, if a director of a client ever wants to know exactly where we’re at on every matter for the management of their building, they can press one button to go in and see all the information about that. They can then

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RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT KINLEIGH FOLKARD & HAYWARD

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RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT KINLEIGH FOLKARD & HAYWARD

“With new-build, the prices of property are now high. When somebody gets a new-build flat, it may very well be their first property and the reality is that they’ve saved up for it for some time for the deposit”

even type in a question, comment, or thumbs up and agree. It works exceptionally well.”

Beyond this, KFH has also been looking to keep a close eye on the actual “communication” elements of providing its service. Firstly tapping into the aforementioned portals, this has seen the organisation looking to develop means of communication between its own teams and property owners in a more accessible manner. This means tackling the common industry issue of property managers often being out on site and unavailable for communication, as well as managing the actual performance of individual property managers in

maintaining consistent communication.

For this purpose, KFH has been keeping track of the number of telephone calls both inbound and outbound for each property manager, as well as the number of emails in the same respect. The overarching goal of this is twofold. Firstly, the organisation does this to monitor influxes in workload and ensure that each and every property manager in the team is fully supported with the infrastructure they need to deliver a strong service. Secondly, KFH does this to monitor the performance and work ethic of its property managers, given the important role that they play in reassuring and catering to the needs of clients as and when any issues arise.

Commenting on the importance of this for clients, he added: “With new-build, the prices of property are now high. When somebody gets a new-build flat, it may very well be their first property and the reality is that they’ve saved up for it for some time for the deposit.

They then have a mortgage of a certain level and that can then put pressure on the service charge and their ability to pay. This can in some cases lead to challenge and questions which then creates more work. If anything then goes wrong with the property, we must ensure we can provide clear and timely responses to ensure the problem is resolved.”

As ever, in a progressive sector with many new developments coming to our management we are reliant on strong partnerships with specialist suppliers who deliver, in many cases, critical aspects of our overall responsibility

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RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT KINLEIGH FOLKARD & HAYWARD

unacknowledged. Our client’s expectations are that we will preserve their asset and achieve the full benefit of the often technically complex and integral engineering solutions that now dominate a modern building. With issues of environmental impact on the agenda, all the “New Builds” are constructed with energy efficiency and conservation as a high priority into the design and planning submission process. Change is always a threat to our management responsibilities as it creates knowledge gaps. If you have a gap then the problems will soon start.

Energy is a good example of this; it’s always a hot topic with our residents and many of our New Builds have the modern version of the traditional communal heating solution installed where each apartment is connected to a centralised heat source and expectations are for 24/7 heat and hot water. However, that’s where the similarities end. This new heating technology has arrived from Scandinavia. The Government views Heat Networks, as they are called, an essential part of the UK’s decarbonisation targets and are, therefore, here to stay. These installations are not for your local plumber or heating engineer. The degree of plant sophistication is staggering. Alarm bells were ringing at the reference to the “Energy Centre” and not simply the “boiler room”. Enter one of these areas and you will understand 16

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why. This is finely tuned engineering intended to deliver “Heat” effectively and efficiently using all the latest advances in heat generation and distribution “Heat” as a new “utility” has come from nowhere to now being a major feature at all our New Builds that have this new principle. We now need to charge our residents for Heat which is reinforced by the regulatory framework of the Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014. Within this regulation our client often becomes a “Heat Supplier”.

I’m no specialist with Heat Networks or CHP’s as they seem to be generically termed.

We have a good number of them come onto our books. We do have contractors with differing degrees of technical experience with energy. Our interest was a company that could support us through not only the understanding of these systems but also the smooth operation. The usual networking through my contacts lead me to Data Energy who have guided us through this minefield and knowledge gap.

Data Energy is a company with the environmental accreditation ISO14001, with whom we found a strong partner who leads us through what could have been one a challenging time.

There are many examples of strong partnerships, which we are keen to continue and expand, ensuring the knowledge and support

is always there, to our and our clients benefit.

Looking to the future, KFH looks to continue growing in very much the same way that it has to date. This will see a focus on organic, sustainable growth within the London market and a strong emphasis on service to help facilitate that growth. Additionally, the organisation will be taking another look at the way that it markets its business and presents itself online. This will likely see some infrastructural changes within the digital sphere and the company taking a more proactive role in bringing more properties into the portfolio in the coming years.

On this note, Richard Benson clarified: “We are continuing to look at how we market ourselves in a good way. We’ve done very little marketing before to be fair, and so we’ll be looking at that in 2019. I’ve just authorised a new team of senior property managers, an assistant, and account manager to add to what we can do in January as part of forward-expansion. We’ve already allowed for 8 new properties in the New Year, but we want to plan ahead for throughout that year, get them trained up, settled in, and hopefully when we get business later in the year, we’re already scaled up and ready to go.

“We’ll also be continuing to look at our communication systems to assess where we’re doing well, where we can improve things, and where we really need to do better for our clients.”

BUILDING DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION MAGAZINE

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20/01/2019 15:14:33

RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CRABTREE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

NO SUBSTITUTE FOR EXPERIENCE One of the UK’s most respected managing agents

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“There is no substitute for experience,” exclaims Crabtree Property Management. With over 30 years of experience as a managing agent, they have gone from strength to strength not only in terms of commercial success, but in cultivating a wealth of property experience that can be passed onto clients.

This has led to the organisation becoming one of the UK’s most respected and highly regarded managing agents, with specific reputation for excellence within its core specialism of residential property management across London and the surrounding areas.

Crabtree was originally established all the way back in 1984 by a single owner with a passion for property management.

Since then, the organisation has undergone significant structural change following a management buyout in 2002 by four senior members in the company and the eventual acquisition of the company by Fexco Property Services in 2017.

To this date, these four individuals maintained an integral role in Crabtree, undertaking various roles as testament to their enthusiasm for property management, the successful company they have built together, and its bright future.

The Fexco Property Services group is underpinned by long established UK brands providing block management and related services and is supported by Fexco, Ireland’s most successful financial and business solution provider.

Fexco have been involved in block management since 1999, successfully growing

the largest residential management group in Australia. The acquisition of Crabtree in 2017 represents part of the Fexco Property Services group’s ambitions to support and grow a portfolio of nationally-recognised property services as part of the next step in its own growth plans.

This is far from the only structural change for Crabtree in recent times, however. To learn more about the acquisition and further changes which have been going on behind the scenes at Crabtree, we spoke with John Osborn, Business Development Director.

First commenting on the relationship with Fexco, he explained: “We’re now part of Fexco Property Services which provides us greater financial strengths and experience in the market. They’re looking to grow a portfolio of nationwide companies to provide the best property services group in the

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RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CRABTREE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

country. It has created additional resources in health and safety, IT, senior management, and various other areas that will help us to grow as a company and as a group of companies across the country.”

At present, Crabtree specialises in the residential sector, with block management being its primary product. This sees the organisation working with resident management companies, right to manage properties, and new-build properties. Within this remit, the organisation maintains a clear focus on working with clients to add value to developments, which can be utilised at any point from the pre-planning and development stages all the way through to ongoing advice and expert services for the betterment of client properties.

Understandably, the earlier Crabtree can get involved with properties, the more value that can also be created in turn. For this reason, the organisation has been increasingly looking towards working with newbuild developments as well as those not yet developed, to add the most value with 20

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its experience. Through this early-stage involvement, the organisation is effectively able to provide operational input on areas of development with the management of the properties as a long-term, strategic consideration – maintenance and environmental standards being of key importance.

John Osborn provided further information on this note, saying: “We’ve been working with developers since we started, so nearly 35 years now. Through that time our experience has grown, and we’ve adapted our knowledge with the growing requirements in new-build properties. This includes new design features, community hot water systems, increased environmental requirements of new-build developments, and all the new technologies that are becoming prevalent. We’ve had to really grow with the developers and ideally, where possible, we like to stay in front so that we’re ahead of the game and can deliver a high-quality service to not just the developers, but also the owners and residents of properties.”

“We’re now part of Fexco Property Services which provides us greater financial strengths and experience in the market”

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RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CRABTREE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT While all the above has allowed for Crabtree to remain competitive, this is just the beginning of what makes the organisation stand out.

The biggest differentiator for the company, interestingly, is actually the approach taken to client relationship management on a basis of both the present and future client. This is evident most clearly within new-build projects, where clear relationships are fostered with the developer, but at what cost? And, more importantly, how does Crabtree manage to overcome this?

“You can often be seen as being too close to the developer and not working

closely enough with the residents. That doesn’t make for a particularly positive relationship when the management company is handed over from the developers,” explained John Osborn. “They are your current client and you want to continue working with them in the future, but you’ve got to bear in mind the owners of the properties are also going to become your clients.”

He continued: “What we’ve been doing to guide our new client is to set up steering committees. On the larger developments, we set up regular resident meetings and from that we

“We’ve been working with developers since we started, so nearly 35 years now.

Through that time our experience has grown, and we’ve adapted our knowledge with the growing requirements in new-build properties”

invite the more interested owners of the properties to join the committees with us.

What that means is that we work with them on a much closer basis, almost as though they were the directors. This helps them to build an understanding of the management of the development, the requirements, and the role of a managing agent.

Obviously, we’re not only just building relationships with the owners and the future clients, but also educating them in the role of becoming company directors, what the liabilities and responsibilities are if and when they take it on at the handover.”

To date, some success has already been had in this mixture of both current and future client relationship development strategy. The organisation is slowly building a name for itself in developing relationships with both developers and future owners, as well as easing those owners into the roles which they will one day fulfil. This proactive partnership BUILDING DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION MAGAZINE

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RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CRABTREE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT strategy has led to positive relationships and offers of references from some of their biggest clients. Indeed, this also allows for both parties in the future business relationship to develop a mutual understanding and collaborative relationship far sooner, with little-to-no bumps at the point of handover due to the strategic approach taken by the company.

Even beyond this point, relationship development has become a cornerstone of how Crabtree has been looking to develop its business. As part of this, the organisation has identified a number of traditional weaknesses in property management services, and how it, as an organisation defined by excellence, can look to overcome those changes with the newfound financial backing of Fexco.

One of these key areas has been a strategic look at the role of the property manager and, instead of simply weighting property portfolios to best adapt within a very traditional structure, has opted to take an entirely new approach to refocusing the property manager on

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what matters: the maintenance of the property.

John Osborn provided further information on this restructuring: “We have created a new service delivery structure that we’ve introduced this year. The usual structure provides each client with a property manager as their dedicated person.

That property manager is often out on site, at site meetings, carrying out site inspections, and so not always available to them due to simply not being in the office. What we’ve done is introduce a new structure which counteracts that and a number of other issues in the traditional structure as well.

“We’ve a new communications centre which was set up in 2015 and is the first port of call for any incoming calls or emails.

If anyone wants to report a repair, make a payment, or request insurance information for example, then that can all be dealt with by the representative on that call. The call or email is then logged and can be tracked through to completion.

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Contact one of our specialists who will be happy to assist you with your insurance requirements.

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RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CRABTREE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

Clear House are pleased to work alongside Crabtree Clear House Accountants are Specialist Service Charge Accountants.

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RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CRABTREE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Each client is allocated a dedicated desk-based property manager, who once they have visited site at the beginning of our management, will remain office-based. They are responsible for the maintenance and management of the building/development. Therefore, should a resident wish to speak to their property manager, they will be available and response times are improved.

“In addition to this, they get a client relationship manager who is responsible for meeting the board, ensuring they are happy and heading in the right direction. They

are the people who go to the site to meet with contractors and provide additional technical support to the property manager for that client. Client meetings are also now much more flexible in their approach.

A team of dedicated site inspectors visit clients on an agreed frequency in branded vehicles to carry out full site inspections. A photographic record is taken of the condition of the development as well as identifying issues, contractor quality control and being a visible presence on site. Site visit reports are uploaded to our Head Office within hours to be actioned by the commu-

nication centre and property manager.

“All of this is designed to allow the property manager to concentrate purely on the maintenance and the management of the building. The client relationship manager is there to manage the relationship with the client. The site inspectors are also there to free up the time of the property manager to concentrate on the proactive management of the building even more.”

Alongside the core service delivery aspects mentioned above, support services are available to clients including: credit control, property transfer, risk man-

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RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CRABTREE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

Crabtree was actually one of the first managing agents in the market to become wholly carbon neutral (something it has now been for over eight years), which the organisation does try to bring into its interactions with clients wherever possible.

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agement, and health and safety support to assist clients with the full spectrum of management related functions for their property. Much of this is provided by specialist teams within the organisation, again allowing for the designated property and relationship managers to focus on the key areas of service delivery, whilst having this extra layer of expertise working behind the scenes to support them with important information.

Optimism is certainly rife that the restructure will bring continued success to the business going forward. Through the division of roles, responsibilities, and centralisation of support functions, the business has granted itself the ability to scale with ease, whilst simultaneously not affecting the level of attention given to individual clients. Additionally, it will also add increased accessibility to information and transparency for clients which might otherwise have been struggling to get in touch with their property manager. Being fully audited members of RICS and ARMA-Q, achieving, maintaining and building on the best industry practices is vital to the ongoing success of the company. This also provides Crabtree with direct access to up-

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RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CRABTREE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT dates on legislation ensuring they maintain compliance across their portfolio.

On the front of corporate social responsibility, we see Crabtree as an organisation which clearly takes its responsibilities very seriously. Beyond providing a strong service for the customer, the organisation also has a key focus on responsible practices within its own operations as well as encouraging similar areas of responsibility with its customers. Indeed, Crabtree was actually one of the first managing agents in the market to become wholly carbon neutral (something it has now been for over eight years), which the organisation does try to bring into its interactions with clients wherever possible.

Looking to the future, Crabtree aims to continue growing within London and the surrounding areas, with the core ambition being to utilise the additional support from Fexco to grow more effectively and become the managing agent of choice for the market. The company is certainly in a strong structural position to be able to reach for these heights, and we certainly look forward to seeing just how the organisation can scale up with its strategic approach to operations and customer service.

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RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT THE RINGLEY GROUP

CJC began life originally as a painting and decorating company, now capable of undertaking multi-trade repairs as well as complete refurbishment projects, providing a high quality, well organised and reliable service to suit each client's individual needs.

CJC undertake contracts ranging in value from £2000 per week up to £100,000 per month. These projects vary considerably in their nature and include:      

Internal office refurbishments Quality internal decoration of residential properties External joinery, brickwork and render repair External redecoration to residential and commercial premises Internal and external refurbishment of heritage and listed buildings Protective coatings to industrial installations, structural steelwork and bridges etc.

CJC Contractors Ltd Tel: 01708 223223 125 Front Lane Cranham, Upminster Email: john@cjc.co.uk 30 BUILDING MAGAZINE Essex RM14DESIGN 1XN & CONSTRUCTION Web: www.cjc.co.uk

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INNOVATION FROM DAY ONE

It’s an exciting time for The Ringley Group as it seeks to expand nationwide It’s about being “ruthlessly customer centric,” says The Ringley Group’s Managing Director, Mary-Anne Bowring when I ask about the business’s ongoing success. Indeed, in such a competitive market, an ability to engage with customers through a combination of service, value and communication is fundamental to a successful approach.

And that, by extension, results in long-term relationships that reinforce reputation. This is something The Ringley Group can proudly shout about.

Established in 1997, the “Ringley Family” provides a com-

prehensive range of property solutions including surveys, valuations, legal services, property/ facilities management, and sales and lettings. Based in Camden Town, its expanding managed portfolio consists of properties nationwide with the recent acquisition of Manchester-based JP Hay strengthening its presence in the north. The growth of The Ringley Group is underlined by its rebrand to underline its forward-thinking approach and celebrate 21 years since conception.

“We’re ready for the new world,” says Mary-Anne, referring to the age of “Millennials and build to rent”. It is about “bringing forward solutions that don’t rely on aging property or accounting

software, for example, but put in place solutions that are fit for purpose. We’ve started with a blank piece of paper, planning customer journeys, and looking to digitalise those journeys with artificial decision-making within them.”

That includes giving staff the ability to bring forward solutions faster than ever before. This is indicative of The Ringley Group’s joined-up thinking. “We’ve done a lot of work seeking to identify elements of the service we provide that can be answered first time, creating metrics and statistics to measure and monitor our capacity to react quickly.

“As a consequence, we’ve linked performance-related pay right down to customer support

level. Normally, that only applies to fee-earners. What we’ve managed to do is create meaningful statistical goals and outcomes for every single job role in the company.”

Indeed, being customer centric begins at “home”. For The Ringley Group, that means incentivising performance and helping its staff across various disciplines achieve their full potential. Mary-Anne acknowledges the business’s success would not be possible without its passionately committed team. This, in line with the ambitious company’s goals, has evolved to meet the challenges of today’s property market head on.

Today, The Ringley Group boasts wide ranging skills sets

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RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT THE RINGLEY GROUP from solicitors, engineers, accountants and facilities managers to IT specialists who have been instrumental in driving The Ringley Group’s endeavour to be a pioneer in the Build to Rent sector. In fact, the luxury of having software developers in-house has meant the company has created bespoke systems both for internal and external use.

One of the ways it has accomplished this is by innovatively removing the layers between departments to eliminate traditional boundaries that may have delayed a response, action or solution to a particular issue. By connecting each department’s data, the property specialist is able to empower people to do their job by connecting facets of the business together to truly deliver joined-up thinking and react more effectively and more efficiently to customer requests.

This innovative ambition has also led to Planet Rent, a smartphone app designed for the consumer to enable fund managers, estate agents, private landlords and even accidental landlords to track their risk and compliance through a platform that has digitised the entire lettings journey.

The launch of Planet Rent is pleasing for Mary-Anne and The Ringley Group because it reinforces its commitment to the consumer that goes back to the 1990s when it set out to champion such landlords who were, at the time, seen as an underdog in the leasehold world.

“Our app works in a very clever way, raising the lettings process to institutional standards.

We’ve taken what we do with institutions and brought it to the mainstream market. We now want to champion best practice in the rental arena,” she adds.

Planet Rent’s success has seen it named as a nominee in the Productivity category of EG Tech magazine’s inaugural awards. The winner will showcase how technology has improved processes with tangible benefits to the end user.

It’s not the only accolade The Ringley Group can boast about in 2018. It was the winner of Property Manager of the Year at the RESI Awards where it was praised for being the “the only managing agent to bring forward a ground-breaking BTR model building on 20 years’ estate management experience”. This culminated in its 150-page BTR Guide, which was distributed to more than 100 fund managers. Ringley’s BTR vision is to help create “a new asset class, akin in community to student living, but with the brand consistency of, say, Premier Inn”. Judges praised the “modern approach” and strong growth of the business.

“Properties are becoming more complex,” says Mary-Anne. “Some of our competitors are still using spreadsheets. In the last 20 years, facilities management arrived in residential management and a lot of people didn’t wake up to that. We were an early adopter of technology which meant creating dashboards to analyse not only your asset register visually but to look at your contracts-in-place visually, and be able to go down to planned property maintenance level as well. That’s the crux of

our success off the back of that.”

The Ringley Group is the only sector specialist to offer a moneyback guarantee – “we take pride in listening to its customers, regularly contacting them for feedback. We take it all on board to inform our continuous learning loop.” That has evidently resulted in innovations such as Planet Rent.

“We also have something call Project R.E.D. RED stands for Repeatable Errors Detected, where we incentivise our staff to find solutions for issues or discover and develop ways to improve or enhance specific elements of our service provision.

These are just a few examples, both internally and externally, of how we ensure we are customer centric.”

The business is also dedicated to its Corporate Social Responsibilities such as engagement with the community through weekly work experience opportunities where teenagers from local schools get first-hand knowledge of the real working world. Successful recruitment has resulted from this in the past.

It’s an exciting time for The Ringley Group.

The acquisition of Manchester-based JP Hay is just the beginning of major potential expansion. The Group is currently in advanced talks regarding a similar acquisition in the Midlands, while it is seeking a partner to work with in Bristol. Concludes Mary-Anne, “Having spent a number of years developing our own bespoke platforms to be truly customer centric, we’re now ready to roll that out throughout the rest of the UK.”

“In the last 20 years, facilities management arrived in residential management and a lot of people didn’t wake up to that”

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RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT THE RINGLEY GROUP

JB Commercial Services Limited cover all areas in Essex, London, Kent, Hertfordshire. We have been proudly providing our services to Ringley group for over 10 years.

Congratulations to Mary-Anne Bowring and The Ringley Group for their 21st year of success.

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JB Commercial Services Limited, Unit 32a Thames Industrial Estate, East Tilbury, Essex, RM18 8RH

Proud to be working alongside The Ringley Group Through our trusted broking team in London, Towergate Insurance Brokers has access to a wide range of tailor made Property and Real Estate Insurance solutions and risk management programmes. Drawing on resource from our insurance experts across the UK we are able to assist with insurance requirements locally, nationally and globally.

Towergate Insurance Brokers is a trading name of Towergate Underwriting Group Ltd. Registered in England with company number 4043759. VAT Registration Number: 447284724. Registered Address Towergate House, Eclipse Park, Sittingbourne RD, Maidstone, Kent ME14 3EN. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

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For more info, T: 01442 281 236 please contact W: www.towergate.com Robin Gleeson E: robin.gleeson@towergate.co.uk BUILDING DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION MAGAZINE

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Residential managing agent seeks empathetic chartered building surveyor!

Every residential block will, at some time, require the services of a building surveyor. Managing agents have the arduous job of sourcing the surveyor who will offer the best value to them, their building and their residents. But what to look for? It’s a big decision, and one that’s essential to get right.

The obvious place to start is a tick list of professional skills and experience. However, there is now so much more to ‘surveying’ than the straightforward services traditionally associated with the profession.

Rather than bringing in different surveyors for different jobs, there are great advantages to working with a single firm that can cover the lot. And that scope is constantly evolving.

It can now include everything from architecture and design to facilities management. For example, building surveyors can study early-stage designs to identify likely issues when assessing leaseholder alterations and advising on Licences to Alter. They can also assess the future maintenance requirements of buildings and they can then take responsibility for that ongoing maintenance, specifically specifying and overseeing repairs and refurbishments.

Other services can include interior design, fire risk assessment, handling of insurance claims and assessing the rebuilding cost of buildings for insurance purposes. Building surveyors can help their clients to see things from the contractor’s perspective, which is invaluable when managing tenders, and enables more effective monitoring of works. And of course, whilst every chartered building surveyor should have good contract administration and project management skills, a specialist in the Section 20 consultation process for residential major works projects will ensure the regulations are borne in mind from the outset.

The beauty of a single company overseeing all these areas is that it creates a ripple of benefits: 1) Careful planning can save costs by sharing expenditure (like scaffolding) over different workstreams 2) Having a single point of control means no jobs fall into the grey area between different surveyors’ responsibilities 3) The manager and residents can develop a long-term relationship with the surveyor, immediately taking the heat out of potentially controversial property-related issues This wide-ranging ‘portfolio’ approach to surveying services is certainly at the heart of how we work at Earl

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Kendrick. It is reflected in the make-up of our team. ‘Team’ is the key here.

No individual surveyor, however experienced, could hope to specialise in every area I have mentioned. Instead, a diverse team with different experiences and specialisations is best placed to help clients with the full range of services.

In assembling our team, my colleagues and I have sought to bring together a group whose skills are complementary and who add value in different parts of the field. Each offers expertise in different areas, so that beyond the core competencies, there are not too many overlaps.

This means we are able to help a wide range of clients, drawing on the different facets and skills to provide the appropriate services to different managing agents with different needs.

For example, we have surveyors who specialise in Licences to Alter, in Planned Maintenance Programmes, Reinstatement Cost Assessments and Party Wall matters. But as well as having people with different professional specialisms, our team is also diverse in terms of people’s backgrounds. And we have a mix of older and more experienced surveyors and younger talent with great potential for the future. Property is a people business, and it’s so important that our clients deal with people they like, trust and can relate to.

All this helps us establish a rapport with each and every client, which means we not only have someone to deal with just about any requirement, but we can also cultivate the long-term relationships that allow us to anticipate future needs. Of course, Earl Kendrick is not the only firm that takes such an approach, but if a Managing Agent asks what they should be looking for in the perfect firm of surveyors, I’d have no hesitation in saying: Experienced, expert and reliable; but most importantly, they put people first.

13/12/2018 12:43:53

RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT IRPM

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RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT IRPM

HOUSING EXPERTS JOIN FORCES TO BOOST PROPERTY AGENT STANDARDS

Government is moving on its promise to regulate the agency and property management sectors and introduce a nationally recognised qualification. It has set up a Working Group, chaired by Lord Best, to raise standards across the property agent sector. It will consider the case for an independent property-agent regulator, together with a single, mandatory and legally-enforceable Code of Practice for letting and managing agents, and potentially estate agents too. A system of minimum entry requirements and continuing professional development for letting, managing and estate agents will be proposed.

IRPM have a seat on this working group and will work with government to raise standards and improve the way industry works. The public good is best served by having a competent, viable and ethical management sector delivering good service and outcomes for consumers while properly rewarding responsible agents who work to high standards and behave ethically.

The Working Group will also be considering a standardised approach for presenting transparent service charges to leaseholders and freeholders and an easier statutory-backed process for consumers to challenge unfair service charges. Managing agents should carefully note that the group are also to be asked whether other fees and charges which affect both leaseholders and freeholders are justified; should be capped or banned. IRPM caution that the minority of agents that charge excessive fees for replies to enquiries, consents, etc. must learn from the example of the lettings industry, where excessive fees have caused government to simply ban all tenants’ fees outright. Andrew Bulmer, CEO of IRPM, warns “agents that abuse their position by charging excessively for their work are not just in breach of the RICS Service Charge (Residential) Management Code, but also run a very high risk of forcing the hand of government to take away reasonable fees from good agents. In short, play fair on fees or lose them.”

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RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SDL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

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RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SDL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

THE MODERN, CUSTOMER CENTRIC SOLUTION

Delivering management solutions to over 30,000 units across the UK

SDL Property Management has forged an industry-leading presence in the sector. It has successfully leveraged diverse expertise in the private rental market, build to rent, commercial management and estate and residential management, and witnessed significant growth as a result. Indeed, the 2018 New Build Property Management Company of the Year has gone from strength to strength.

Crucially, it has accomplished this during a period of change for the SDL Group family including the integration of CPBigwood, which saw the beginning of its journey into property management, followed by the Alexander Faulkner Partnership and SJ Higgins in 2017, which further strengthened its market position. Through this change, its work with new build properties has stood out for its bespoke approach and attention to detail. Working with new build properties stems from years of dealing with complex mixed-use, mixed-tenure developments.

Its recent award, which comes shortly after the SDL Group took top spot in the 2018 Private Equity Growth Barometer (with an average growth rate of 69%) compiled by leading accountancy and business advisory firm BDO, underlines an important milestone for the property management specialist in that it is the first win for its work with developers and new build properties.

Capping a very successful year, SDL Property Management continues to make progress towards an ongoing commitment to offer a more customer-centric solution.

It’s one of the ways it hopes it can distinguish itself within the sector over the next few years, further underlining, says Chief Operating Officer, Mark Trumper, the enduring purpose and core values the Group has developed.

“That incorporates revolutionising the customer’s experience of property services,” he remarks. “As a Group we want to take a look at all those verticals that we’re in and better understand what our customers truly value and want from us. Through the power of the expertise our people possess, we’ve used that as a jumping off point to make progressive change in these different facets. That is underpinned by our core values: to love our customers, to dare to be different, and to make it better. We try to frame what we’re doing within those values.”

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RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SDL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT This journey began with the acquisition of CPBigwood. Straight away the SDL Group recognised that the estate management industry was going through a significant period of transformation. . “As well as continuing to work with developers and housebuilders, we have put more emphasis on the RMCs and leaseholders, because those are the people we’re dealing with day in and day out. Those are the people whose homes we’re trying to take care of and manage.

“As we look ahead, we’ve brought in the expertise to facilitate this ambition to understand what our customers want and be able to deliver the service that satisfies those needs. Customer service is important but it’s also belt and braces stuff – putting in place management processes and support around how we do what we do, and taking that opportunity to go to the process owners in the business and challenge them to make it better.

“It’s about how we ensure we live up to our corporate values and look at ways we can improve the delivery of a budget,

“As we look ahead, we’ve brought in the expertise to facilitate this ambition to understand what our customers want and be able to deliver the service that satisfies those needs. Customer service is important but it’s also belt and braces stuff – putting in place management processes and support around how we do what we do, and taking that opportunity to go to the process owners in the business and challenge them to make it better” how we improve how we do a year-end set of accounts, how we improve the way that we take and manage calls in our property assistant community, and doing all that in the service of making our customer’s lives better.”

That has understandably led to innovation. SDL Property Management is preparing to launch a brand new customer-facing portal, SDL 360, that is advantageous for a number of reasons. It also has benefits internally, a joined-up-thinking approach that connects the various facets of the Group as well as the wider supply chain. But fundamentally, it has been developed to enhance the customer experience, breaking down the perception of barriers between the tenant/resident and managing agent.

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SECTION FEATURE

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RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SDL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

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RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SDL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

It offers a transparent platform where customers can, for example, log on and access all relevant documentation relating to their property, gain up-to-date information on current and upcoming developments, and register queries or concerns. They can even generate work orders and track progress. The goal is to have the portal up and running by Q2 2019.

It’s a modern approach to getting the basics right, says Mark. “Even the biggest managing agent in the UK only owns about 4% of the addressable market, so that tells me that no one has really figured out how to deliver the service customers truly want. So it’s doing the basics well - delivering what you say you will, in the timeframe you say you will do it, and being open, transparent, generating trust with customers - that is actually quite revolutionary in property management.”

And this is underlined by SDL Property Management’s desire to leverage the scale of the Group with the focused, regional bias of a local business. “We have a number of offices around the UK and in each we have a team of property managers and property assistants who have a local understanding. They can react quickly, they understand local issues and priorities pertaining to that area. But they are supported by the scale of a large national company which

can draw on a diverse range of expertise from accounting to surveying, health and safety and other relevant disciplines.”

That puts SDL Property Management in a unique position that it has strengthened through the introduction of its franchising model known as SDL Property Partners. “It’s an extension of our ambition. We’re trying to build a network of people who really want to be their own boss.

They’re passionate about property management but it’s difficult for them to see a path to setting up on their own. We’re giving them the platform to set up with the backing of the SDL Group.

It means delivering a customer-focused service on a local level. We were the first company to set up this kind of franchise model and its enjoyed successful growth in the last 12 months.”

The SDL Property Management approach is one that seeks to develop a new way forward for property management. Its success in a short space of time examples unique thinking, drawing from the expertise it possesses in-house to deliver a totally bespoke service designed for each individual unit under its management. With further growth expected in 2019, the full rollout of the client portal to its 30,000 units, and an increase in its franchising activities through SDL Property Partners, it’s an exciting time for the business.

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RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT RENDALL & RITTNER

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RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT RENDALL & RITTNER

A NATIONWIDE PRESENCE Seamless integration as Braemar Estates becomes Rendall & Rittner

Rendall & Rittner’s ambition to drive its market strength on a local basis across England was underlined by its takeover of Braemar Estates in 2017. Now, following the incorporation of its 5,000-strong property portfolio in the North under the Rendall & Rittner brand, the once London-focused managing agent has further strengthened its national presence, expanding the number of units it oversees to around 60,000.

The acquisition is particularly beneficial as Rendall & Rittner pursues a foothold in major northern cities such as Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Birmingham with Braemar’s diverse portfolio bringing a number of prestigious residential and mixed-use instructions under the Rendall & Rittner banner.

Representing a significant step in the progression of its objective to be a truly national company at the forefront of the industry, the managing agent is continuing to seamlessly integrate the two businesses. This is an endeavour boosted by the fact both share not only key skills but the values that have led to each enjoying enviable reputations.

Rendall & Rittner’s history goes back to 1990 when Matt Rittner and Duncan Rendall, unhappy with the management of the development in which they lived, established the managing agent from their own homes. A year later they rented a small office in Wapping, East London, and took on their first employee. By September 2010, the then 100-strong company had outgrown the Wapping office and moved to Portsoken House in the City of London.

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RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT RENDALL & RITTNER The company has grown substantially, particularly in the past five years, confirming its place as a specialist, professional and highly personal practice. Its track record in the management of high-quality developments is exceptional, generating a reputation as a leading independent managing agent. Its properties range from traditional mansion blocks and substantial mixed-use developments to those in the Build-to-Rent market and Senior Living sector, covering Greater London, the North, the Midlands and the South.

Today, Rendall & Rittner is one of the few managing agents regulated by RICS, being recognised as an Inclusive Employer and given early adopter status. The company has been awarded Platinum Investors In People status under the new standard demonstrating its commitment to staff training and development and is an accredited supplier under the Achilles Building Confidence scheme. Also, it has been named Property Manager of the Year at the RESI Awards three times within the past five years.

Matt Kirk, North Area Director, who opened the company’s Manchester-based office in 2008, has witnessed first-hand this consistent growth and success. The Braemar purchase was identified as a natural move, one that would increase its presence significantly.

“We recognised they had a very good client base with some fantastic buildings. That was an exciting proposition and we felt that

would sit very well with our existing portfolio,” remarks Matt. He notes that Braemar also possessed a good mixture of clients – from RMC instructions to large freehold clients – and that, importantly, they shared a similar working culture to that of Rendall & Rittner.

“The staff who were originally at Braemar are very similar to the staff we have, similarly putting great emphasis on quality and service; treating your leaseholders like they are customers is integral to Rendall & Rittner’s approach. It’s why we have the reputation we do.

Mixing all that together made it a very natural step for us.”

The acquisition was advantageous for several reasons, not least taking the company’s number of units under management to around 60,000 but more than doubling its position in the north from around 2,500 units one year ago to over 7,000 units today. It represented a move that underlined to its clients that it was a nationwide company with a local foothold. Indeed, its reputation as a London-centric managing agent is now a thing of the past.

Operating as one fully integrated business, the integration has utilised the strengths of both companies, resulting in benefits to customers including an upgraded online portal, improved reporting, slicker communication through a new system for logging and tracking work, and better value through group purchasing deals.

“We recognised they had a very good client base with some fantastic buildings.

That was an exciting proposition and we felt that would sit very well with our existing portfolio,”

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RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT RENDALL & RITTNER

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Rendall & Rittner’s capabilities will also be boosted by incorporating Braemar’s health and safety reporting mechanism. The system makes it easier for property managers to record and access health and safety data, increasing clarity and efficiency, and crucially optimising the safety and security of residents, which is paramount at Rendall & Rittner.

For Braemar’s previous clients, they will all benefit from Rendall & Rittner’s modern online portal. Matt explains: “This is a fantastic management tool that all former Braemar clients, staff and residents will now be able to use. It means, for instance, residents can report issues through it; we can publish information clearly and quickly electronically to a large number of people, and people can log in and see what’s happening with repairs, and check and pay their service charge. There’s a whole range of services available through our portal that will now be used by the Braemar blocks.”

Any integration is a challenge but it’s one that’s been embraced by the internal teams, says Matt.

“They have risen to that challenge to get us to where we are now.

Rendall & Rittner has a good reputation for service which stands us in good stead so in terms of our introduction to the existing Braemar clients, I think they have been open-minded to our involvement and our name comes with the good standing we have within the sector.

That fills them with confidence.”

The business has come a long way. “We’ve grown from one building 28 years ago to 60,000 units today across the UK. That growth has been down almost entirely to word of mouth and reputation. We took the decision to become a nationwide company a few years ago and created a number of different regional business units to add to our traditional London base. That has proven to be a great success.”

That was, in part, about recognising the evolving trends in housing. “There is a limit to how far you can grow in London. And it is inescapable to not notice how cities around England have increased their number of apartments, indicative of changing living habits,” notes Matt.

“The numbers of people living in city centres around England has dramatically increased in the last 15 to 20 years. We see that trend continuing and so it’s a natural move for our company to have a presence in these cities nationwide.”

Now it’s about ensuring the transition continues to run smoothly. “And we have to ensure the new residents we have receive the benefits of that. We want to become the preeminent managing agent in England and we think having a larger presence in the North helps drive that objective. And because of the strength of the business locally, we are more attractive to new clients who want to tap into our expertise.”

BUILDING DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION MAGAZINE

16/12/2018 11:01:05

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12/11/2018 11:01:05 17:25:03 16/12/2018

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT RICS

RICS

150TH ANNIVERSARY 2018 marks the 150th anniversary of RICS. In order to celebrate this milestone, we have two initiatives highlighting the achievements of the profession and demonstrating its importance to society, both in the past and in the future: Pride in the Profession and Cities of our Future.

In addition, we have an exhibition at our HQ on Parliament Square, London. Shaping the World, Building the Future offers a rare opportunity to see the positive impact and significant contribution surveyors all over the world have made over the last 150 years. As part of the celebrations, our iconic HQ, built in 1899, has been recreated in Lego.

Our 150th anniversary not only presents an opportunity to celebrate our past, but to help define the future. Our Pledge150 campaign in partnership with property industry charity LandAid aims to provide 150 bed spaces to help fight youth homelessness.

We have opened an exhibition to celebrate our 150th anniversary, as well as the significant contribution the surveying profession has made to local communities and the wider built environment over the past 150 years.

The exhibition – known as ‘Shaping the World, Building the Future’ – was officially opened by RICS President, John Hughes FRICS and Sean Tompkins, RICS CEO (on 11 January) at RICS headquarters on Parliament Square, London.

The exhibition will run throughout 2018, and highlights include a replica Penfold Post box designed by founding professional of RICS and the organisation’s first Honourable Secretary, John Wornham Penfold. The Penfold Post Box was the inspiration for the cartoon series, Danger Mouse and his sidekick Penfold.

Meanwhile, a multi-volume Dutch world atlas - the Blaeu, Atlas Major - dated 1662 is on show comprising 594 maps, which collectively presented the state of geographic knowledge of the world in the mid-17th century.

A model of the Great Theodolite used by surveyor, Colonel Sir George Everest around 1830 to measure the height of the highest mountain in the world, which now bears his name (Everest) is also being exhibited, along with a measurement book used by RICS professional, Colonel Alan R Mais for his work on the hydrographic survey of the Mulberry Harbours in Normandy. The colonel took the measurement book on shore by him at the D-day landings in 1944.

A Lego model of the RICS headquarters – which took over 150 hours to build and 13,000 miniature bricks to construct – as well as an intricate model of the Olympic Village, are on display, joined by a 3D model of the City of London. Both showcase the integral contribution surveyors have made, and continue to make, to the built environment.

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COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT RICS

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COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT KNIGHT FRANK

DESIGN FOR MANAGEMENT Implementing new approaches to safeguard the strategic direction of assets from the development stage into management, whilst driving value for money and exceptional service delivery

Anthony Watson, a former hotelier and erstwhile overseer of several five-star establishments, is one of the many property management experts to bring their talents to industry frontrunner Knight Frank.

Underlining the business’s commitment to innovation, he has helped to implement new approaches to safeguard the strategic di52

rection of assets from the development stage into management through the Design for Management programme.

Before joining Knight Frank, Anthony spent 10 years with Allied London and Capital Properties shaping the operational delivery for Spinningfields, First Street and the Windsor Portfolio. He says, “I loved my time with Allied, being around Spin-

ningfields and the exceptional people who developed it was a steep learning curve and was where the Design for Management programme really started to take shape.”

Knight Frank has cultivated the pioneering “Design for Management” strategy for mixed use buildings and estates, with their team being instructed on over 3.5 million sq ft of office space and nearly 75 acres of pub-

lic realm. This, Anthony says, makes Knight Frank uniquely qualified to offer support and guidance to developers and landlords throughout the build phase ensuring a smooth transition into management.

Anthony examples one of Knight Frank’s current instructions at 125 Deansgate in Manchester. “We were instructed from the point of it coming out of the ground, sitting alongside

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the development team offering practical solutions in everything from access control to the building’s BMS. We’ll know the building inside-out before we move in to manage it. That’s what makes Design for Management so effective; all of the teething issues that we have seen historically with new buildings have already been identified and managed out.”

Design for Management sets

out to eliminate issues before the building reaches practical completion. Knight Frank provides expert advice and guidance during every stage of development for new or refurbished mixed-use estates and mixed-use buildings. It will identify and resolve any issues before they become an operational headache. Thus, properties are primed for purpose so that the most effective and efBUILDING DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION MAGAZINE

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COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT KNIGHT FRANK ficient operations are delivered for the buildings’ tenants and landlords.

“Rather than waiting until the landlord hands over a newly completed building for us to manage, we have real input into how the building is going to work beforehand. That includes how it will operate, what plant it will use, what we think is the best bit of kit for doing a particular job. So it’s a real partnership and I think this is why we have developed lasting relationship with our clients, because we are with them, supporting them with a cradle to grave mentality.”

This is one way Knight Frank aims to overcome the prevailing short-term mentality of many

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developers. Service costs are going to be inherently higher if developers take the short-sighted approach. Anthony argues that even if a property is intended to be built, marketed and sold, a longer term view is still warranted and Design for Management should always be considered.

“That’s because the things that we will stipulate and advise our clients on are going to help drive down the service charge.

We might recommend, that in our experience this BMS system is more economical and its annual maintenance costs are going to be cheaper, for example. By doing this we can drive the service charge down. And

a lower service charge makes occupation more attractive to potential tenants.”

It comes back to optimising the experience for tenants and understanding their needs with a customer-centric approach.

“The customer/tenant experience is hugely important in terms of retention, it’s not just about maintaining the building to a high standard and installing great kit, it’s also about interaction and customer service delivery. Gone are the days when a building or facilities manager was only focused on health and safety and the workings of the building. Now, managing a trophy asset is, at times, more akin to being a hotel manager.”

Recently, a number of national surveys have been looking at how, if at all, property management has moved forward in the last ten years. The general consensus was that it hadn’t.

But interestingly, the critical factors receiving the most negative feedback were not high rents and service charges, the most common issues were around a lack of customer service, interaction and communication.

Knight Frank has recognised these shortcomings within the industry and blended hotel concierge-style service with hardedged facilities and property management. “This has revolutionised the way we look at managing these big trophy as-

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COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT KNIGHT FRANK

sets,” remarks Anthony, adding that change was an absolute necessity if Knight Frank was to be recognised as the managing agent of choice.

Part of the Design for Management programme will identify the right team for the building. A lot of clients have been particularly attracted to the way in which Knight Frank can employ and train front of house teams direct. “I always find it amusing when we hear other people in pitches say they will deliver a 5-star hotel service and then employ another company to run their front of house. No company should be better placed to understand the needs of our tenants better than we do. Our in-house trainers and General Managers can look after our front of house teams and monitor our service standards to ensure that we constantly deliver a best in class offering.”

That hospitality bias has put Anthony, and by extension Knight Frank, in a unique position. He explains the business consistently monitors performance with “mystery shoppers” who will visit a commercial property unannounced and report back on standards and the customer experience. This data can 56

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SECTION FEATURE

The LCM Group is an established company located in the North West.

Our business includes the Design, Building and Maintenance (Reactive and Planned maintenance) of commercial properties and complexes within the UK. The Group’s foundations date back over 50 years and we have long standing strategic relationships with many highprofile companys. Our streamlined operations deliver innovative solutions by working closely with both clients and employees, using the safest working practices and tried and tested managerial strategies. Value is assured through technical excellence along with an unwavering commitment to service. From tender to handover LCM Group has proven experience and extensive knowledge in working in differing environments. With our experience and insight into the industry, we can effectively deliver an array of property maintenance and refurbishment services throughout the UK. In house Services and Divisions are:

 Electrical services  Mechanical Services  Decorating  Drainage  Joinery

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57 BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION MAGAZINE Tel: 01772 655 010DESIGN | Web: www.lcm-group.co.uk Fax: 01772 653 909 | 24/7: 0845 304 5521

12/12/2018 11:08:16

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT KNIGHT FRANK

Anthony Watson Property Management Expert

The days of building and FM managers being glorified caretakers is gone. As Anthony says, “tenants just won’t tolerate that level of service, they want the team on the ground to understand their needs, be approachable and respond quickly and efficiently.

A trophy asset’s front of house team and its General Managers should be seen as an extension of the tenant’s team providing support for a myriad of problems that the modern day occupier may have to deal with.”

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then be used to seek improvement and inform strategy going forward.

There has been a cultural change within the profession over the last few years. “FM is evolving and encompassing a much wider remit with a much greater skill set required in order to be successful. The guys who are in my team all have honours degrees and are so switched on in multiple areas. They are highly customer and operationally focused but that doesn’t detract from the fact they can still hold a conversation with the best of them when it comes to talking about chillers or M&E.” This new breed of facilities and general managers is what Anthony believes will drive the property management industry over the next few years. The days of building and FM managers being glorified caretakers is gone. As Anthony says, “tenants just won’t tolerate that level of service, they want the team on the ground to understand their needs, be approachable and respond quickly and efficiently. A trophy asset’s front of house team and its General Managers should be seen as an extension of the tenant’s team providing support for a myriad of problems that the modern day occupier may have to deal with.”

Because the remit of trophy asset management is widening, Knight Frank has been keen to develop its operational team rolling out structured inductions and training programs in order to ensure that its onsite teams are delivering a best in class service.

It’s beginning to send positive shockwaves throughout the industry. And more clients are seeking Knight Frank because of it. “We have a national remit for Design for Management and in the last few months we have landed some significant instructions not just in the North and the Midlands but also in London. It’s great to see the programme gain some real traction and, given its associated benefits, I’m sure it will become an absolute necessity when developing trophy assets and mixed use estates.

“The customer experience is always paramount and at the forefront of everything Knight Frank does but I think by blending a hotel type service offering with traditional FM, it is really starting to pay dividends. And not just for us, for landlords, for tenants and customers in the buildings. They appreciate the building and its services so they tend to stay longer, therefore retention rates are higher. It is good news for everyone and it’s only going to get better.”

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