29 Apr Brief to Lease Deal in 7 months!
Negotiating a new lease deal for your office premises would have to be up there with the most stressful things you can do in life! Right there alongside, buying and renovating your own home!
The good news is that it doesn’t need to be! Not if you have the right people in your corner with the right information.
If you’re the lucky one who has been duly anointed with the responsibility of going out to the market to find the perfect office; meeting with agents, inspecting premises, weighing up the options/property conditions/ incentives / location and then engaging in the never ending negotiations only to have legal spend the next month [or longer!] clarifying terms just to get the Heads of Agreement signed…. [sigh…] read on.
Finding and negotiating the terms on your ideal office space takes time and a lot of energy when you don’t have all the right information at hand. Make the wrong decision and it could be career damaging or worse, career ending. You also need to be able to support the decision you have made with logic and reasoning, to justify to your peers or the Board, why this one over that one, and especially if the deal on the proposed premises is a little higher than another on the list.
With the right resources, information and support crew it can be a whole lot more pain free and perhaps, even career building.
When Hall Chadwicks lease expiry was looming, they knew that after having been in their current premises for the last 20 years that they needed some external support to set them on the right path for what the office that would take them the next 20 years into the future would need to look like. It was with a tool kit of information about them and their business that they were able to confidently go to the market and expedite the leasing process, closing the deal in just 7 mths. This process can typically take anywhere upwards of 12mths, but with a clear brief they were able to articulate their requirements, eliminate non-conformances and negotiate with conviction to get their perfect premises locked in, and it all starts with getting the foundations right – the core of your business.
Relocating to a new premises is a HUGE opportunity that so many businesses overlook in creating a competitive advantage. This is a once in 10-15year opportunity to reimagine what “work” looks like in your business, how communication flows, how your brand is represented, how your clients “feel” when working with you, how you want your team to show up everyday and engage with your vision and values for the future.
Imagine the kind of impact that your work space could have on your team if it was infused with all the things that are unique to your business?
By unravelling your organisations DNA and rebuilding its component parts, through employees survey’s, management interviews, observation reviews, historical growth analysis and departmental mapping, the non-negotiable requirements of what your space needs to ensure your business thrives become crystal clear.
It is with this clearly articulated brief that the whittling down of options becomes streamlined as tenancies begin to self-select.
With a handful of short listed opportunities a desk top review can further eliminate unsuitable options, analysed against a criteria of; core design, position and circulation factors that impact NLA utilisation; column layout & size; depth of floor plate for maximising efficiency yet enabling penetration of natural light; ceiling height; sill height; building amenities and end of trip facilities. Those that are still an option can be further tested by preparing indicative floor plans to determine how the space will be connected and flow, overlaying the design brief into the floor options.
TIP – WHILST A TENANCY MIGHT LOOK GREAT ON PAPER; GREAT DEAL AND THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF SPACE, WITHOUT A TEST FIT YOU MIGHT FIND YOURSELF COMING UP SHORT. THE SHAPE OF THE BUILDING, CORE LOCATION AND COLUMN LAYOUT ALL IMPACT ON THE EFFICIENCY OF THE FLOOR AREA. WE’VE SEEN CLIENTS NARROWLY ESCAPE A COSTLY MISTAKE BY UNDERTAKING A TEST FIT PLAN THAT SHOWED THAT DUE TO THESE BUILDING FACTORS THEY WOULD HAVE REQUIRED TO TAKE MUCH MORE SPACE THAN THEY INITIALLY THOUGHT, INCREASING THE ANNUAL RENTAL AND MAKING THE OPTION UNVIABLE.
Coupling the visual analysis of a test fit with the review of commercial terms quickly identifies preferred options and enables serious negotiations to commence with a solid grounding in the process, ensuring that decisions aren’t made solely on the “best deal”. It also provides scientific approach to the lease decision, removing any potential emotive decisions, giving your colleagues and the Board the comfort that the right deal has been made.
The outcome is a clear, evidence based leasing strategy swiftly executed saving you and your business time & money.
Hall Chadwick procured their 1600sqm tenancy at 240 Queen St, utilising this model in 7months, and that’s only the start of the returns that they have achieved.