Case studies

Service: Planned Preventative Maintenance
Client: @Bristol (now We The Curious)
Location: BRISTOL
Property: Whole Millennium Square portfolio including @Bristol science centre, Millennium Square public space, underground multi-level Car Park, Security Building, Leadworks.

We have enjoyed a good working relationship through @Bristol’s transformation into We The Curious. As with them, the name of our business was designed to reflect what we do and their latest incarnation certainly does that.

With the Estate comprising several converted industrial and period buildings, a large underground car park and large public spaces, the in-house property team have their work cut-out. Our initial involvement included an inspection of the whole Estate and subsequent production of a 10-year Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) schedule. Effectively, this provides a live tool that can be used to stage and plan anticipated future expenditure and consequently reducing the need for reactive maintenance; the latter more often than not being disproportionately more expensive than planned work.

To provide a fully considered plan, it was essential to have a good basis of technical knowledge and experience, where the varied building types and technologies involved pose their own specific implications in respect of longevity and repair. This always needs to be tempered by a good understanding of the client’s needs, as good condition does not necessarily mean perfect.

Service: Dilapidations Assessment
Client: Formula One Management Ltd
Location: BIGGIN HILL
Property: Office, warehouse and ancillary services.

Both the building(s) and site have been extensively altered over the years, with the lease having previously been renewed. We were appointed to assist with strategic planning, specifically relating to the potential for the site to meet future expansion. Our input was in the form of a forward Dilapidations Assessment.

Essentially, we have considered the condition of the building both now and in the future, to set out what would be expected of the Tenant in order to comply with their leasehold responsibilities. This information can be used in several ways including:

• Undertaking work prior to the end of the lease to ensure compliance.
• To assist with financial planning and contingent liability, predicting the likely order of any claim for Dilapidations presented by the Landlord.
• To assist with any future negotiations for lease renewal and/or, the financial implications of moving to a new site.

We have undertaken annual Dilapidations Assessments for several clients with national portfolios, ranging from Bristol to Glasgow. Annual reviews mean that the re-inspection and update costs are far less than one-off assessments. We also develop a good working knowledge of the portfolio. This is especially useful for clients with properties on relatively short leases and where they prefer to undertake work themselves, providing closer control on expenditure.

Service: Building Survey & Building Reinstatement Cost Assessment (BRCA)
Client: Bath & North East Somerset Council
Location: BATH
Property: Multi-let central investment property.

Over the years, we have amassed a wealth of experience in undertaking commercial pre-acquisition surveys across the UK and Ireland, including single estates worth up to £125Million. More often than not, the condition of the building is often secondary to either the clients’ business needs or, the nature of the purchase i.e. owner occupier or investor.

It is our job to establish this from the outset, in order to give focused and targeted advice. For example, an investor will not be interested in a dripping tap where the Tenant occupies under a Fully Repairing (often insuring), lease. However, an owner occupier will be bothered by this. Conversely, a long established Tenant had spent £45Million on large scale alterations. The scheme was to a very high quality, having been designed by arguably the UK’s most prominent Architect. However, the issue of reverse engineering those alterations needed to be considered, should that Tenant surrender the lease or cease trading, with the market appeal thereafter being extremely limited for such a bespoke property.

Where this property in Bath was being sold as an investment, our inspection was aimed at a fairly high level i.e. key issues rather than minor items. We also commented on dilapidations where several demises were vacant and had not been stripped out and left in repair by the former tenants; with the cost subsequently falling to the Landlord.