Lambert Smith Hampton by Kenneth Booth

BUILDING DESIGN &

CONSTRUCTION THE MAGAZINE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

ISSUE 168

MITTON MECHANICAL SERVICES CUSTOMER-FOCUSED SERVICE

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LAMBERT SMITH HAMPTON COMMERCIAL PROPERTY CONSULTANTS

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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: LAMBERT SMITH HAMPTON

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY CONSULTANTS Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) commercial property consultants offer a full range of commercial property services and advice to both the private and public sectors

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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: LAMBERT SMITH HAMPTON

f you’re in the business of managing property, the emphasis is often different depending on who you’re working for. Investors in property want to maximise their income while occupiers aim to reduce their costs, which can seem like conflicting demands. However, the belief at Lambert Smith Hampton is that by applying the correct principles, it’s possible to keep everybody happy. The company currently has around 750 staff working out of 26 offices across the UK. Sean Brew, who heads the company’s Property and Asset Management business, believes this geographical spread is important: “Within the real estate advisory market place, everybody talks about national coverage of offices. But it is a fact that we have the widest office coverage of any business of this type in the UK. This network provides a close proximity to the properties we manage and crucially facilitates an active dialogue with occupiers.” Lambert Smith Hampton’s current size and structure have come from a combination of organic

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growth and a series of acquisitions going back to the 1980s. This has resulted in a number of main business lines to handle the company’s activities. Capital Markets deals with investment buying and selling of property and an Occupational Agency service handles the letting of offices, retail premises and industrial sites. Leasing Advisory undertakes rent reviews and similar services for properties, the Building Consultancy side provides professional services that include valuation and rating while Planning and Regeneration supplies help with project delivery. Finally, there’s Sean’s Property and Asset Management division, which forms around twenty percent of the business. “The key point is that the company is a multi-disciplinary UK practice,” he comments. “Broadly speaking, whatever your real estate issue happens to be, we can help you out with it. Although we do have a residential expertise, our core business is commercial property. By that I mean offices, industrial properties and retail premises.” The Property and Asset Management division employs some 160 people working from thirteen of

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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: LAMBERT SMITH HAMPTON

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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: LAMBERT SMITH HAMPTON

2-4 Eastcheap BELOW: Hough End Hall

the company’s offices, with two prime hubs in London and Nottingham. It manages about 7,600 properties and 20,000 tenancies, collecting around £450 million in rent each year. Clients are a mixture of pension funds, property companies and corporate occupiers, including the Royal Bank of Scotland, the BBC, Henderson Global Investors, Logica, Aberdeen Asset Management and a range of local authorities such as Hertfordshire and Essex councils. It’s this diverse range of clients that imposes the challenge of differing requirements. Sean explains: “We provide two distinct types of service. One is to investor clients who have elected to invest in the property sector for a return on their investment. On the other side are corporate occupiers where we manage their occupational portfolio. They occupy property as an adjunct to their business, not because they want to but because they have to occupy property to be able to trade. It’s all about us helping them to reduce cost and deliver occupational flexibility.” PROPERTY SERVICES The services provided cover property and asset management, environmental management, health and safety as well as facilities management. When managing a building, LSH will place contracts on the client’s behalf so that it is also managing the common facilities within that building. This, as Sean

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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: LAMBERT SMITH HAMPTON

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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: LAMBERT SMITH HAMPTON

ALL THE SUPPLIERS THAT ARE USED GO THROUGH A RIGOROUS VETTING PROCEDURE THAT REQUIRES THEM TO DEMONSTRATE CONFORMANCE TO SPECIFIC CRITERIA TOP: Aviator Park, Addlestone River Office Park, Maple Cross

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points out, extends to the maintenance of the lifts, the provision of cleaning services and everything else the makes the building operate efficiently: “We will be managing them as a supplier to make sure they deliver best value and best performance.” All the suppliers that are used go through a rigorous vetting procedure that requires them to demonstrate conformance to specific criteria. These include a certain level of financial robustness that will mean they’re likely to be around for the long term, corporate social responsibility commitment and a proven track record. This results in a pool of suppliers that have gone through a thorough quality assurance process and which the company is happy to use. However, to ensure performance levels are maintained on a continuous basis, every contract has SLAs and KPIs built in so that performance is monitored. Whilst Lambert Smith Hampton does operate nationally and does have UK-wide clients, Sean is sceptical about placing too much reliance on national supplier contracts. He says: “My view is that national contracts can sometimes deliver a price advantage but what you gain there, you lose on flexibility and performance. A contractor that is great in Bristol, for example, might be absolutely appalling in Newcastle. We procure on a regional basis so we will use the best specialist for a region and aggregate economies within that region.”

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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: LAMBERT SMITH HAMPTON DELIVERING BEST VALUE It’s all about delivering best value for the client but the interpretation of best value can vary depending on the client’s position. If the clients are investors in property, they generally have two broad needs. The first of these is to make sure the building is functioning correctly, providing a place in which the occupiers are happy to work, which is largely achieved through an efficient facilities management operation. The second need is a little more complex because it involves working with the occupiers to try to increase the value of the investment holding. In Sean’s view, the increase in value is achieved by any one of three things: “It’s by trying to increase the amount of income from a property, trying to improve the quality of that income and also trying to increase its duration. We always have an active dialogue with the occupiers to try and understand what is going on in their business. We may have an industrial estate, for example, where we know one occupier is struggling but another is doing very well and seeking to expand. “There’s a natural opportunity for us to take a lease surrender from the first occupier and expand the second occupier into that property. If you can do those three things, your asset value is inevitably going to go up. If you can do one of those things, you’re providing value but, if you can do all three, you’re a super star!” For those clients who are property occupiers, Lambert Smith Hampton has the dual aims of reducing what they spend on their real estate and

Eversholt Street, Euston River BELOW: Orbis Building, Staines

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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: LAMBERT SMITH HAMPTON

A COMPLETE LANDSCAPING SERVICE See Brilliance has over thirty years in the professional contract services industry providing a wide range of activities. We are able to provide an extensive range of services to Facilities Managers, Architects and Commercial & Industrial property owners to reduce their ongoing maintenance, restoration and refurbishment costs, while at the same time enhancing the image of their company’s buildings The range of services is compliant with the appropriate H&S standards and codes of practice for the industry as well as the use of professionally trained operatives, with IPAF / PASMA qualifications We operate throughout the midlands down to the south coast and pride ourselves on not only offering a personal level of service but also value for money.

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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: LAMBERT SMITH HAMPTON

of delivering occupational flexibility. These aims can often conflict because increased flexibility often results in increased spend to achieve it. However, as Sean points out, clients generally have different priorities: “For some clients, operational flexibility is absolutely allimportant so it’s a real challenge to reduce their spend. Others are fairly happy to square away long-term leases. On that basis, we can negotiate a good deal with the landlord because every landlord is in the market for a long-term lease with quality occupiers.” UNDERSTANDING OCCUPIERS’ BUSINESS Irrespective of this, there’s an overriding commitment to work with the occupiers and engage with them in order to be able to understand their business. One advantage of doing this is that it often gives the opportunity to move occupiers around a building in order to make the best use of available space. Equally important, especially at times of economic

difficulties where there is a high level of occupier administrations, is that of value protection for investor clients. “We’re having an active dialogue with the occupiers so we get an early sense of whether they’re struggling financially,” explains Sean. “If we know there’s a problem looming, we can work with the occupier to do something about it. That’s what we try to do rather than just simply sending out the quarterly rent demand and then finding out it hasn’t been paid because the occupier’s gone bust. If that happens, we’re not doing our job properly.”

“BROADLY SPEAKING, WHATEVER YOUR REAL ESTATE ISSUE HAPPENS TO BE, WE CAN HELP YOU OUT WITH IT. ALTHOUGH WE DO HAVE A RESIDENTIAL EXPERTISE, OUR CORE BUSINESS IS COMMERCIAL PROPERTY. BY THAT I MEAN OFFICES, INDUSTRIAL PROPERTIES AND RETAIL PREMISES.” SEAN BREW HEAD OF PROPERTY AND ASSET MANAGEMENT BUSINESS

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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: LAMBERT SMITH HAMPTON Leavsden Park

ENSURING CONTRACTOR HEALTH AND SAFETY COMPLIANCE Lambert Smith Hampton has a published health and safety policy that sets out provisions and criteria to ensure the health, safety and welfare of its employees and all others who are involved with or affected by its activities. This aims to ensure compliance with legal requirements and to improve health and safety performance in accordance with OHSAS 18001. It also sets out to reduce the risk of injury and ill health, promote well-being and safe working. Non-employees affected by the policy include the many contractors that Property and Asset Management uses for its facilities management activities as well as those used throughout the other parts of the company. In order to ensure compliance and the necessary level of competence, all approved contractors go on a contractor database, which is accessed by the staff at all Lambert Smith Hampton’s offices. To get on the database, contractors have to complete an online application form that covers the company’s tax and NI details, health and safety systems, accident reporting and analysis, prosecutions and notices, permits to work, QA systems and relevant experience. Copies of required supporting documents are uploaded with the completed form. The content of the form and supplied documents are reviewed by health and safety consultants, who will request missing information and clarify any points where necessary. Satisfactory applicants will receive certification and will be added to the database. This ensures that: • they are considered for suitable work by Lambert Smith Hampton staff • other potential clients are aware of their health and safety compliance and competence • regular newsletters and updates are received • 24 hour health and safety telephone support is available • preferential insurance terms can be obtained due to proven health and safety standards.

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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: LAMBERT SMITH HAMPTON

In terms of income from a property, there are potential revenue streams in addition to the rental that an occupier is paying. These can be areas such as advertising income and the installation of telecoms equipment. Sean says: “There are some instances where the advertising revenue you get is not dissimilar to the actual estate revenue if it’s an unusually well-located and prominent building.” A potential source of revenue for building owners, which is becoming increasingly popular, is to put solar panels on the roof and earn income from the government’s feed-in tariff. However, as Sean points out, it’s not a short-term proposition: “If you know your office block is going to be there for a long time, say 15-20

years, you can put solar panels on the roof and then sell back to the grid the energy you generate. It doesn’t pay for itself straightaway but will start to break even some time after year five. So you need to know you’ve got the building for a long time.”

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SUSTAINABILITY The latter investment is all part of the sustainability arena and this, from a property management point of view, has become an increasingly important subject. Whereas it might previously have come up as a peripheral topic in meetings with clients, it’s now become a central issue. As a result, Lambert Smith Hampton is constantly involved in matters of compliance, making sure

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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: LAMBERT SMITH HAMPTON

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Building Maintenance & Facilities Management at their Very Best • KCE FM was established in the UK in 1993 as a business unit within one of the world’s most prominent engineering, construction and facilities management companies. • We provide our Clients with a one-stop integrated service in all aspects of high-technology building services solutions and building fabric engineering, from the initial consultation, design, planning and installation, through to operational maintenance and ongoing building life-cycle management. • Our Clients are loyal as a result of our openness, integrity and accessibility, and our capacity to deliver intelligently, creatively and with absolute precision.

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• Our exclusive Healthcare for Buildings© philosophy is at the ethical hub of our maintenance service. Founded on the principle that every building is inherently unique, and should be assessed, managed and maintained accordingly, our personalised approach ensures that our Clients’ assets and investments function at an optimal level, within a secure, energy-efficient environment. • Using advanced technology and methodologies, we extend the lifespan of critical plant, and create safe, comfortable working environments, in an ethical, socially responsible manner. • In line with our commitment to sustainable development and the long-term building interests of our Clients, energy and cost-saving measures are incorporated into the maintenance programmes designed by our team at project inception. Our clean, lean engineering solutions are responsive, unobtrusive and accurately tailored to our Clients’ requirements. • With an informed understanding of our buildings’ singularities, and our Clients’ high expectations and vision, we design, monitor, implement and deliver a service of incomparable quality.

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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: LAMBERT SMITH HAMPTON

Uxbridge Road London BELOW LEFT: White Hart Lane High Wycombe BELOW RIGHT: Marloes Building, Kensington

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that the buildings it is managing conform to all environmental legislation. This means ensuring that properties have the required energy performance certificates, that energy usage is monitored and that carbon reduction commitments are met. Knowing what the energy consumption is does mean that initiatives can be put in place to reduce the amount that is consumed. The emphasis on sustainability is to some degree tending to focus minds on wider issues about the long-term future of a building, as Sean explains: “It’s helping clients to try to understand, beyond having a compli-

ant building, where they should start and end in terms of their investment in that building to future proof it. They need to make sure it’s still relevant in the market five years hence to occupiers who have increasingly stringent sustainability criteria when they sign up to any lease. “It’s important to understand that the easiest thing is to say you’ve just got to keep on spending money to future proof your building and make it respect occupiers’ demands. But there comes a tipping point where it’s actually uneconomic to invest further in the building to achieve sustainability

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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: LAMBERT SMITH HAMPTON

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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: LAMBERT SMITH HAMPTON goals. You’re not going to see any payback. That may be a marginal costing point but it’s very important. We’re working with clients to try and help them understand what those areas actually are and, where appropriate, consider alternate uses where the building is becoming functionally obsolete.” Nevertheless, it is in every property investor's interest to ensure their buildings are properly maintained and up-to-date in every respect. A recent Midlands Office Market Report, published by Lambert Smith Hampton, highlighted the need for landlords to upgrade their commercial property. A high demand for office space in the city centre is expected to lead to Grade A accommodation being in very short supply. Businesses will continue to look for office space but will increasingly require high quality premises that have sustainable features. Buildings that are expensive to run, inefficient to operate and outdated in other ways are unlikely to meet modern demands, putting pressure on building owners to constantly update what they have to offer. The reasons for the potential problems in Birmingham are high demand due to its Enterprise Zone status coupled with a shortage of supply resulting from little new development recently. However, these factors apply elsewhere and the principle of providing adequate accommodation applies throughout the industry. COMMUNICATION METHODS Lambert Smith Hampton’s whole approach is based around working closely with the building owners and occupiers to achieve the best value service for its clients. “Communication is key,” says Sean. “Whilst there is no substitute for face to face contact with our occupiers, we have invested in a suite of tools and processes to aid the flow of information.”

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Barkston Gardens BELOW: Olympus House- Front elevation

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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: LAMBERT SMITH HAMPTON

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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: LAMBERT SMITH HAMPTON

These include occupier websites on managed properties, a 24/7 help desk so that problems with buildings can be reported and occupier satisfaction surveys. “They tell us about our service,” remarks Sean, “and equally give an occupier the opportunity to tell us what their plans are for the next year or so. All of this helps us outperform the market in retaining occupiers on our investor portfolios.” This market outperformance is illustrated by Investment Property Databank figures that show significantly more occupiers choose to renew their tenancies on Lambert Smith Hampton managed properties than the industry average. That results from a number of factors, including the level of ongoing communications with the occupiers but also a proactive approach to expiries and break options within leases. Sean says: “As a manger of a property asset, you know when occupier expiries and breaks are coming up. As an example, we have often spoken to our occupiers three years prior to lease expiry or break and sought to tear up the lease at the time and have a new five-year lease put in place. So we’re trying to pre-empt lease expiries to improve the continuity of our clients’ rental income stream, which we think is really important.” www.lsh.co.uk Tel: 020 71982000

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