Property Management instruction at St. Nicholas Building

Naylors were instructed to advise on the management of St Nicholas by the prospective purchaser in advance of completion. This allowed the team at Naylors to assist and advise on the pre-contract enquiries relating to the purchase and to understand the management issues relating to the building prior to purchase. This helped to ensure a smooth handover on completion and also allowed the team to review contracts and performance on the building.

At the point the management was handed over Naylors’ task was to immediately review the service charge expenditure on the building with the requirement to reduce the overall cost whilst maintaining and improving on the service.

The immediate past history of the building was one of very high capital expenditure, a lack of communication & liaison with the tenants, and a concern from the tenants about a distant managing agent.

Naylors’ management team immediately set about improving tenant engagement through Nickie Ridley, our Property Manager, who working with the onsite Building manager, John, set up twice weekly meetings with tenants to understand ongoing issues.

As a result of the discussions the existing cleaning contract was re-tendered and awarded to a local business at a considerably reduced cost. In addition Naylors’ Facilities Management team, headed by Stuart Logan, reviewed all of the existing supplier contracts and numerous amends and savings have been made.

The net result of this initial first quarter activity has been a 20% reduction in the service charge budget for 2015-2016, together with a clear budget issued to the tenants for their information. This will be followed up by a quarterly report to tenants advising on progress.

Angus White, Managing Director and Head of Asset Management, believes that this example highlighted the department’s ability to work closely with both landlord and tenant and achieve performance benefits to both parties. It also demonstrated the benefits of a locally based agent with a very proactive hands on approach.

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