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THE MAGAZINE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
BUILDING DESIGN &
CONSTRUCTION ISSUE194
FEBRUARY 2014 ISSUE 193
FEBRUARY 2014
IKEA
YELLOW, BLUE AND GREEN BUILDING DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION
IKEA is the first big UK retailer to start selling solar panels but its vision doesn't stop there
TIDEWAY
THE COMPLETE ASSET AND PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SERVICE
CLARKE ENERGY ENGINEER, INSTALL AND MAINTAIN
LONDON BOROUGH OF HAVERING HOMES AND HOUSING
ALSO INSIDE: MAKE YOUR MOVE WITH TSP
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PROPERTY AND FACILITIES MANAGEMENT: TIDEWAY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED
THE COMPLETE ASSET AND PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SERVICE TIDEWAY IS A SPECIALISED COMPANY FOCUSSING ON ACTIVE PROPERTY OWNERSHIP AND ASSET MANAGEMENT OF COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY THROUGHOUT THE UNITED KINGDOM.
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PROPERTY AND FACILITIES MANAGEMENT: TIDEWAY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
anaging Director Tony Bones makes no apologies for Tideway focusing on the basics of property and facilities management. He says: “Asset management starts with getting all the fundamentals of property management correct and making sure the building is in good shape, all the maintenance schedules are in order and tenants are being looked after. We work pretty hard on tenants’ service and, when we have done that, we can turn to the asset management. Many companies treat that as the attractive side of the business and don’t necessarily focus on the basics first.” Tony has been recently appointed after a 35year career in commercial property management with a number of well-known companies. He joins Chief Executive and founder Phillip John who has a similar level of experience including spells in the Middle East. Together, the two are determined to further develop Tideway while avoiding the drawbacks often associated with larger firms. Tideway’s business is looking after all aspects of commercial and residential property but its
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approach is different to many of its rivals. It’s a relatively small company that specialises as a niche asset and property manager and seeks to differentiate itself from larger rivals with a focus on the UK and on client-led business. Its size means it can offer a very personal service for the fifty or sixty properties it currently has under management. “As a small organisation, we are all very hands on,” explains Tony. “We are all involved in the property and asset management for particular clients and properties, whereas large organisations will have a varying number of people dealing with each property. Clients come to us because they want to know the same individual will deal with them on a long term basis.” That approach is particularly important because many clients are based in the Middle East or Far East, or are small property companies or high net worth individuals who don’t want to get involved in the active management of their properties. Instead, they rely on Tideway to handle all aspects for the property, even to the extent of organising buying and selling on occasions. The company’s size means it doesn’t try to handle everything itself and that, Tony believes, is a benefit. As an example, he says: “We undertake some
“CLIENTS COME TO US BECAUSE THEY WANT TO KNOW THE SAME INDIVIDUAL WILL DEAL WITH THEM ON A LONG TERM BASIS.”
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PROPERTY AND FACILITIES MANAGEMENT: TIDEWAY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED
TIDEWAY HAS A PARTICULAR NICHE SET OF SKILLS CONCERNING MANAGEMENT ADVICE AT DESIGN STAGE
of the rent reviews but often they are sufficiently specialised that we turn to those in the marketplace that have more expertise on those particular types of property. BEST IN CLASS “We don’t do letting on the residential or commercial side but we appoint, organise and direct letting agents. Larger firms have different groups for each service but we decide which we will do and which are better handled by specialists. We have the advantage over the bigger players of being able to select the best in class whereas they have a vested interest in doing the letting, buying and selling themselves. Our interest is to pick the right party to give the best service to the client.” The focus is mainly on London due to the need for local expertise although Tideway will manage properties further afield when established clients request it. Client relationships come first and, unlike many other asset and property managers that concentrate on a particular type of building, Tideway
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looks after both commercial and residential property, with an equal level of expertise for each, so is well placed to handle the growing number of mixed use schemes that are particularly important in creating sustainable communities. The approach for all properties is the same, which again comes back to doing the basics of keeping the buildings in good order through a network of supply partners and maximising income from the buildings. That, as Tony outlines, generally involves a proactive approach: “We look at the strategy for the property in terms of asset management, lease re-gears and tenants, which fits in with looking after an asset overall from an investment perspective and increasing the income and the asset value.” Tideway has a particular niche set of skills concerning management advice at design stage, especially concerning mixed use schemes, management set up and the capability to analyse building services charges in extensive detail for both landlords and occupiers.
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PROPERTY AND FACILITIES MANAGEMENT: TIDEWAY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED Tideway also believes socially responsible asset and property management is important. For sustainability and energy management, it is very focused and is heavily involved with a property at Plantation Wharf where it brought in LED lighting and has electric vehicles to save considerable money on energy. Plantation Wharf is typical of Tideway’s mixed use focus with commercial and residential properties that have 238 tenants and a £1.2 million annual service charge budget where substantial savings have been made. TENANT RELATIONSHIPS A close relationship with tenants starts when a new property is taken on. “We put together a transition plan with all the activities in terms of service, rent, accounting and tenant matters and we put all this down with a timescale against it,” remarks Tony. “There is usually a three-month lead-in for most management when we take over after notice has been given to the previous agent. New properties are quite a speciality so we can advise clients, architects and service engineers at the development stage about delivery, strategy, logistics and security arrangements. We then take the property into management and out of contractors’ hands, arranging all necessary permits and everything else.” Also important is the safety of tenants and that’s ensured by a risk management programme run by a health and safety provider that also undertakes health and safety audits and makes sure all contractors are properly accredited. There are regular tenant
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meetings and Tideway is involved with a Tenant Assistant Program website to strengthen communication between landlord and tenant for its Plantation Wharf property, something it’s planning to introduce at 36, Queen Street EC4 in the City of London. It’s all part of the process of creating a good relationship with tenants, which Tony believes is instrumental in achieving an excellent tenant retention record: “We treat them as clients in the same way as landlords or owners. The discipline of doing residential as well as commercial helps in that regard
clients look for a personal, tailored and flexible service and so, although the company has ambitions to expand with a growth plan in place, there is no intention to grow too quickly or become too big to the detriment of the service. “We are focused on people and client relationships and we intend to maintain those,” comments Tony. “When we expand and need additional resources, we have already identified individuals in the marketplace that are suitable to bring into the business. We are a private company and have no
“WE JUST WANT TO BUILD LONG LASTING, MUTUALLY PROFITABLE PARTNERSHIPS WITH CLIENTS AND OUR SUPPLY PARTNERS WHO SHARE THE SAME PRINCIPLES AND VALUES WE HAVE.” because, for residential management, we are dealing with people’s homes. The residents are very interested in all aspects of the property and we’re expected to deal very promptly with problems, perhaps in some situations more so or in a different way than in a commercial building.” Tideway remains a small and focused asset and property management company but with a breadth of experience in both commercial and residential properties for mainly international clients. Those
debt, so we are not driven as the larger firms are by gaining market share to satisfy investors. We want to grow but this is still a personal business and we know everyone we deal with. We just want to build long lasting, mutually profitable partnerships with clients and our supply partners who share the same principles and values we have.” www.tidewayproperty.co.uk Tel: 020 7409 0609
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