Graham + Sibbald were appointed Managing Agents of The Greenhouse in April 2018. We were approached to provide the owners and tenants with a more streamline and transparent alternative to the management of services on site.
Why G+S
If you are looking for a proactive asset team that will take care of the fundamentals, minimise your costs and boost your asset’s value, we will deliver.
We manage a wide variety of commercial properties on behalf of our clients, including individual retail units, shopping centres, business parks, office blocks, industrial estates, and petrol stations. Our client base ranges from blue chip companies and public sector organisations to single property investors.
Approach
In order to simplify the process, we produced a service charge which incorporated all tenant services. The service charge is broken down into three schedules and incorporates the common maintenance charges for the building, building insurance and estimated electricity charges for the year. As a result, tenants can view their charges at the start of the financial year, allowing them to take account of these costs and incorporating, if necessary, into their own budgets.
Since our appointment we have worked closely with the staff at The Greenhouse to ensure tenants are receiving the level of service expected, closely monitoring expenditure to ensure costs remain within service charge estimate. As well as the service charge management, we also provide rent reviews, lease renewals, invoicing/collection of rent and offer a full range of building surveying services.
Key Challenges
Agency found that key challenges arose in the planning, which is why a developer with a strong track record of public engagement and campaigning was identified as important to progress the project.
Our Planning team found overcoming the new policy framework, which is more limiting to roadside development, was a key challenge. Also dealing with community comments and transport comments about road safety issues, and ensuring a suitable and safe route for pedestrians was provided. Comments had also been made about the impact of the development on the town centre, so addressing these concerns was crucial.
Key Challenges
The priority has always been to deliver a quality service to the client and tenants, to ensure the property remains at the very high standard expected and to do this within a reasonable budget. As our service charge for the building incorporates tenants’ utility costs, the changes in the energy market within the last few years has caused significant challenges. To ensure tenants costs remain competitive, we engaged energy consultants who have provided specialist advise in what has been a very volatile market. By keeping a close eye on budget costs and working with the client, we have managed to navigate what has been a turbulent couple of years in the market. We now seem to be seeing more stability which will hopefully provide some reassurance to our client and tenants.
Results
A very high standard multi let office premises. Working closely with the client to ensure services are delivered well and budgets are as accurate as possible provides a working environment which tenants continue to enjoy and benefit from.
Key Message
A close working relationship with our client and an understanding of what they are looking to achieve from their property has ensured that year after year we have played our part in ensuring The Greenhouse remains one of the most prestigious office spaces in the city.
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