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Tag Archive for: property

Spiral 926736 640

Towards the Circular Economy through Urban Innovation

November 16, 2018/in Insights/by Lucy Matchett

In an article featured by PLACETECH, Lucy Matchett, Senior Consultant at Hillbreak, shares lessons from Amsterdam on ways in which innovative design and technology are being deployed to advance the circular economy.

The Netherlands is renowned for innovation and creative responses to global megatrends. For example, and despite geographic constraints, The Netherlands has recently become the world’s second largest exporter of food by value, second only to the United States, which has 270 times its landmass’[i]. It has also been paving the way for high tech water management for a number of years, as much of the country sits below sea level[ii]. Now, its cities must respond anew to the opportunities and challenges posed by urbanisation and population growth, despite already being one of the most densely populated countries in the world[iii].

Is the circular economy the solution?

The circular economy offers The Netherlands a solution to these unprecedented challenges. Understanding that the current model of economic growth is unsustainable and detrimental to society, the circular economy is a restorative and regenerative alternative[iv]. Based on a system which decouples ‘economic activity from the consumption of finite resources’[v], the circular economy encourages value to be found in typical waste materials and products. The Netherlands see this approach as a viable alternative to economic growth and prosperity for its citizens. The growth in population and further urbanisation without this paradigm shift would otherwise lead to environmental degradation, pollution and, potentially, social unrest as people compete for limited space, food and commodities.

The Netherlands therefore have chosen to develop a circular economy by 2050[vi]. Within the geographic constraints of their cities, a circular economic model would help to ensure that growth is sustainable. For example, in Amsterdam and Utrecht alone, it is expected that population figures will be 150,000 greater in both cities by 2040 (growing to 950,000 and 450,000 respectively). Beyond the binary growth opportunities this will bring for the market, how this impacts the real estate sector will be realised in two key ways: first in the design of buildings and the products within them for re-use and longevity (otherwise known as cradle to cradle design[vii]); and secondly, in the shared use of space and amenities.

How is the Dutch real estate market responding?

The Edge Olympic[viii]and Bajes Kwartier[ix]in Amsterdam are two great examples of how the circular economy is being integrated as both projects are renovating and reactivating areas that are already part of the city fabric. The Edge Olympic is Edge Technologies’ 11,117 sq m Grade A office, whilst Bajes Kwartier is an exciting redevelopment of a 1970s prison into a mixed-use quarter. Both developments, although at different scales, have firstly considered the re-use of buildings already positioned within the city, and then additionally, the flexibility of that space once redeveloped.

The result is a modern ‘inspiring workplace’ at The Edge Olympic which has used a smart, digital infrastructure to allow occupiers of the building to optimally utilise the space in the building. This type of building management not only improves the accessibility of the space, but also leads to energy efficiencies too, with comfort control being demand-led, taking into consideration real-time occupational density and personal comfort preferences.

At Bajes Kwartier, the circular economic model is being advanced through a number of different approaches. One example of how flexibility will be achieved is through the planned shared amenities and sustainable mobility. Smart landscape planning, for example, will ensure adequate provisions of green space for all the occupants, despite limited private outdoor space. In addition, carefully curated transportation routes will ensure that shared vehicles and active alternatives (walking and cycling) are preferred.

Another example which has circular economy principles incorporated into the entire design, is The Circl, a novel gastronomic venture in Amsterdam[x]. Although a temporary use of space, this building shows what is possible when cradle to cradle principles are designed throughout a building. Built for future disassembly and re-use, this energy positive building worked with a number of suppliers to offer them long-term services rather than a one-off product which has enabled this building to use 60% fewer virgin materials. For example, Mitsubishi provided a lift service rather than a product which ensured they didn’t over specify the number of lifts in the building and have designed them to last with easily replaceable components.

The future of the circular economy within the real estate sector in particular will be enabled and will rely heavily on data. As this area evolves, the real estate sector will see exciting disruptions. MADASTER, based in Amsterdam, creates digital material passports[xi]which will allow manufacturers to give their materials an identity so that value can be recreated at the end of their current use. Applied successfully, this type of innovation could have implications from a regulatory perspective too, as authorities change from a system of taxing labour, to the taxation of materials to further reduce the use of virgin and non-renewable materials.

Is the circular economy the future?

The circular economy presents The Netherlands and other economies with a practical and desirable means of realising better growth and prosperity. What is already clear from the Dutch approach is that partnerships will form, and profitable business models will follow, once a compelling, overarching vision (to develop a circular economy by 2050) is in place.

These insights were gathered during a study tour of Amsterdam and Utrecht organised by the Urban Land Institute, a non-for-profit professional research body focused on creating leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities.

[i]https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/09/holland-agriculture-sustainable-farming/
[ii]https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/06/15/world/europe/climate-change-rotterdam.html
[iii]https://www.holland.com/global/tourism/information/facts-and-figures.htm
[iv]https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-economy/concept
[v]https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-economy/concept
[vi]https://www.government.nl/documents/policy-notes/2016/09/14/a-circular-economy-in-the-netherlands-by-2050
[vii]https://www.epea.com/cradle-to-cradle/
[viii]https://www.edge-olympic.com/
[ix]http://oma.eu/projects/bajes-kwartier
[x]https://circl.nl/themakingof/en/
[xi]https://www.madaster.com/nl
https://www.hillbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/spiral-926736_640.jpg 480 640 Lucy Matchett https://www.hillbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/hillbreak-green.png Lucy Matchett2018-11-16 09:26:072019-01-14 22:04:56Towards the Circular Economy through Urban Innovation
Oslo Opera

Perfect Storm for Managing Agents

November 2, 2018/in Insights/by Timia Berthomé

Consultants Howard Morgan & Jon Lovell offer a six-point solution to the problems of the property industry’s managing agents.

Managing agents caught in the ever-increasing whirlwind of client demands and occupier expectations must embrace risk and innovation if they are to survive.

This is the view of two independent experts, operating in complementary spheres of the real estate industry, who are offering them a blueprint for survival.

Jon Lovell, whose Hillbreak business provides strategic advice and training on sustainability and responsible investment, and Howard Morgan, whose RealService consultancy operates in the world of customer experience, believe the role of the traditional managing agent is now in peril.

Lovell and Morgan see a perfect storm of challenges coming from two principal directions:

  • Increasing performance, compliance, cost efficiency and transparency demands from landlords, including on environmental, social, wellbeing and health and safety matters. These are testing managing agents who are going to need stronger leadership, more effective systems and new capabilities to keep ahead of the game
  • Meanwhile, those who occupy the buildings they manage are becoming fickle and savvy customers, expecting a more enriching experience, greater flexibility and reliability.

With rising expectations from occupiers and their landlord clients, managing agents are feeling the pressure.

Bill Hughes, boss at Legal and General Investment Management recently turned up the heat. Writing in Property Week, Hughes said managing agents are being asked to provide services “they are not equipped to offer” as their role moves from rent-collection and basic maintenance to provider of “customer service, facilities maintenance and engineering, sustainability and CSR strategic thinking”.

In response, property managers MJ Mapp blamed property owners for instigating a tendering process which has outsourced management to the lowest bidder. They said owners should select managers who share their values and not take management in-house, risking losing focus on their core business.

Lovell and Morgan have sympathy with both perspectives, which points to a collective market failure rather than a single source of blame.

According to Morgan, salvation for the property industry’s operational intermediaries lies in persuading owners and investors to join them in forming strategic partnerships which harness the talent of the client, the managing agent and an increasingly disparate supply chain. This would require a fundamental change in thinking from the current “hands-off” outsourcing model.

Their Six-Point Survival Blueprint focuses on:

  1. Better business alignment and planning
  2. Clearer agreements and outcome-based performance contracts
  3. Stronger leadership from senior management
  4. More effective and consistent deployment of capability and technology
  5. Greater harmony of message & transparency to customers
  6. Closer alignment between performance and remuneration

Morgan’s blueprint inspiration came from a visit to John Lewis’s state-of-the-art warehouse complex in Milton Keynes. Here he saw collaboration in action, in the form of the company’s partnership with Knapp, an Austrian firm, which enables the retailer to deliver more than 220,000 different product lines to its stores and online customers.

He says: “John Lewis’s reputation is based around customer service and it is putting that reputation into the hands of a third party. It has been able to do this because of the relationship it has with Knapp; it is a strategic partnership.

“Property companies put their reputations in the hands of managing agents, but their relationship is nothing like the one between John Lewis and Knapp. Why would managing agents embrace risk or invest in technology when there is no long-term partnership?

“Our blueprint is about taking best practice from outside the industry and working with our clients to apply it to the world of property,” says Lovell.

To collaborate successfully, Lovell points out that owners and managing agents must work together on a business plan which identifies a mutual vision and documents key areas of responsibility, risk and reward. Having clear, outcome-based objectives across the spectrum of financial performance, customer experience, environmental responsibility and community impact means each partner knows exactly what they bring to the relationship and how they are accountable.

Being on the same page enables the creation of benchmarks or indicators to monitor progress, while recognising strengths and weaknesses allows each partner to utilise their particular expertise and concentrate on their core competencies.

Any arrangement must have the complete commitment of the senior executives of both parties and be promoted consistently to customers as a partnership of equals. Financial rewards should be based on key performance indicators and provide incentives while, in terms of governance, the arrangement should be reviewed regularly, in a spirit of collaboration and improvement rather than conflict and an ever-poised stick of retendering risk.

Bear in mind too, that partnerships can take time to flourish and need nurturing.

Morgan points out that research suggests it is cultural differences, rather than financial or corporate considerations, which cause partnerships to break down, hence his enthusiasm for putting the customer at the heart of every property company’s business strategy.

Lovell says: “Dissatisfaction of landlords with the service provided by managing agents is one of the key motivations for increasing the frequency of re-tendering. They see it as a way of incentivising performance but actually it’s part of a downward spiral; a race to the bottom which actually disincentivises investment in innovation and skills.

“We need to find an inclusive approach to performance management and remuneration to incentivise performance. Investor expectations are strengthening and likewise the demands of the occupier market.

“Strategic partnerships are being trialled but currently only really in the area of energy savings and, in many cases, with the managing agent having been circumvented by the client searching for a more reliable and responsive solution.

Morgan and Lovell do not underestimate the challenge to create an upward spiral of quality and reward.

“Unfortunately, clients have, over a sustained period, driven the agenda, which has been focused on realising more outcome for less money. Margins are very, very low as a result.”

Morgan is also frustrated that customer engagement is not factored into the performance of investment managers despite evidence proving that high customer satisfaction can improve the bottom line by almost two per cent.

“You can typically get information on energy, waste and water consumption but you can’t get information on occupier engagement,” he says.

Morgan and Lovell believe that occupiers will become increasingly vocal and willing to up sticks if they can’t get the solution and quality they want from their landlords, having seen new levels of aspirational workspace entering the market through disruptors such as WeWork.

As Morgan says: “Our approach is fundamentally about creating an alignment of interests between the owner, manager and occupier.” As the strategic partnership of John Lewis and Knapp shows, it’s ultimately the customer who benefits and there lies the key source of sustainable, competitive advantage in business.”

This article was authored jointly by Jon Lovell, Co-Founder & Director of Hillbreak, and Howard Morgan, Managing Director of RealService.

https://www.hillbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/oslo-opera.jpeg 992 744 Timia Berthomé https://www.hillbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/hillbreak-green.png Timia Berthomé2018-11-02 00:01:112019-03-05 18:08:29Perfect Storm for Managing Agents
Real Estate Fundamentals

Real Estate Fundamentals for ESG Professionals – 2018 Course Dates

December 12, 2017/in News/by Jon Lovell

Two further “Real Estate Fundamentals” training dates for sustainability and responsible property investment professionals have been announced by Hillbreak.

The UK Green Building Council (UK-GBC) will host one session on 12 January and Tuffin Ferraby Taylor LLP (TFT) will host another on 27 February.

The course is designed to enhance the confidence and ability of delegates to engage with their colleagues and stakeholders in the furtherance of positive ESG outcomes, and to enhance their contribution to the strategic, operational and financial goals of their employer organisations and investor clients.

Topics covered include the current state of the UK property market and its challenges; the property investment and development process; and property value, valuations and appraisals, including the integration of sustainability factors.

The training, which has received excellent feedback from organisations including LandSec, Intu, The Crown Estate, Capital & Counties and Peel Land & Property, will be delivered by Hillbreak co-founders Miles Keeping MRICS and Jon Lovell.

The unique course, tailored specifically for real estate sustainability professionals, is run in a roundtable format with a combination of classroom-style teaching, Q&A, individual and group exercises and facilitated discussions. In this way, it is hoped that all participants will learn by having the opportunity to steer content whilst interacting with each other and the facilitators.

Places are limited to 12 delegates per session and are available on a first-come, first-served basis and a number of places have already been reserved. Registration and further details are available below:

12 January (@ UK-GBC)
27 February (@ TFT)
https://www.hillbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/real-estate-fundamentals.jpg 682 955 Jon Lovell https://www.hillbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/hillbreak-green.png Jon Lovell2017-12-12 18:34:312019-08-07 08:58:30Real Estate Fundamentals for ESG Professionals – 2018 Course Dates
Real Estate Fundamentals

Real Estate Fundamentals for ESG Professionals – New Course Date Announced

September 29, 2017/in News/by Jon Lovell

Hillbreak is pleased to release a further date for its highly-regarded “Real Estate Fundamentals” training course for sustainability and responsible property investment professionals.

The intensive one-day course is open for registration now and is exclusively available for those with an Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance focus working within property companies and real estate investment management organisations. The course is designed to enhance the confidence and ability of delegates to engage with their colleagues and stakeholders in the furtherance of positive ESG outcomes, and to enhance their contribution to the strategic, operational and financial goals of their employer organisations and investor clients.

The training will be held in central London on 11 December 2017 and will include coverage of topics including: the current state of the UK property market and its challenges; the property investment process; property value, valuations and appraisals, including the integration of sustainability factors.

The training, which has received excellent feedback from organisations including LandSec, Intu, The Crown Estate, Capital & Counties and Peel Land & Property, will be delivered by Hillbreak co-founders Miles Keeping MRICS and Jon Lovell.

The unique course, tailored specifically for real estate sustainability professionals, will be run in a roundtable format with a combination of classroom-style teaching, Q&A, individual and group exercises and facilitated discussions. In this way, it is hoped that all participants will learn by having the opportunity to steer content whilst interacting with each other and the facilitators.

Places are limited to 12 delegates and are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Download the prospectus and book you place here.

https://www.hillbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/real-estate-fundamentals.jpg 682 955 Jon Lovell https://www.hillbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/hillbreak-green.png Jon Lovell2017-09-29 12:43:252019-08-06 13:55:14Real Estate Fundamentals for ESG Professionals – New Course Date Announced

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