The challenges facing businesses globally as they position for recovery post-pandemic are inherently interlinked

As businesses position for recovery and adopt new ways of working, corporate occupiers will need to address a range of issues if they are to retain and compete for top talent while delivering revenue growth and managing operational efficiencies.

FIDES Network’s independent specialists consider how adopting a holistic approach to implementing new ways of working can help your business to achieve operational efficiencies and tackle key challenges in organisational strategy, HR, technology, workplace and wellbeing, and commercial real estate.

Key questions include:

* Is your office a place to work or somewhere to build culture, collaborate and socialise?
* Are there opportunities to reduce your office footprint or become more sustainable?
* Do you have the technology to enable new ways of working?
* Are you taking advantage of talent hotspots in the UK and internationally?
* Do you have a strategy in place to address these issues and optimise productivity?

Please click ? Can You Work On Mars? to learn more.

 

How can we help?
McCalmont-Woods Real Estate is a member of FIDES Network, a trusted independent network providing bespoke services and solutions for financial and professional services organisations, particularly during times of event-driven change.

Because McCalmont-Woods acts only for corporate occupiers, we guarantee to provide un-conflicted advice and champion your interests as trusted advisors in real estate.

We have advised an impressive list of office occupiers from small start-ups to leading global brands across a broad range of industry sectors and on whose behalf we have produced more than £50 million cost savings to date.

 

Business Process Outsourcing company Woven has benefitted from £640,000 savings in rent following the successful completion of the rent review on its Bristol office.

Advised by McCalmont-Woods, the revised rent agreed on Wyndham Court, a 30,000 sq ft self-contained office building located in the St.Paul’s area of the city, is equivalent to circa £17.52 per sq ft based on a ten-year term as at the 2nd March 2020 review date.

Across the whole of the Bristol office market in 2020 only three leasing transactions were larger than the hypothetical letting with an average deal size of 6,655 sq ft over 76 transactions. And, with prime office rents for Grade A space of between £35.50 per sq ft to £37.50 per sq ft as at Q1 2020, the new rent agreed provides our tenant client with an excellent outcome.

 

Lease events are a catalyst for change

With businesses across the UK expecting to make significant changes to their ways of working, a forthcoming lease event provides an opportunity for many organisations to improve operational efficiencies and achieve significant cost savings with decisions to remain in existing premises or relocate elsewhere accelerating high up the corporate agenda.

Recognising that the ability to manage break options or lease expiries in an intelligent and timely manner can be a huge challenge, FIDES Network member Nick McCalmont-Woods has been considering the key drivers of change likely to influence corporate occupiers’ decision making in real estate.

Please click ? Should I Stay or Should I Go Now? to learn more.

 

How can we help?
McCalmont-Woods Real Estate is a member of FIDES Network, a trusted independent network providing bespoke services and solutions for financial and professional services organisations, particularly during times of event-driven change.

Because McCalmont-Woods acts only for corporate occupiers, we guarantee to provide un-conflicted advice and champion your interests as trusted advisors in real estate.

We have advised an impressive list of office occupiers from small start-ups to leading global brands across a broad range of industry sectors and on whose behalf we have produced more than £50 million cost savings to date.

 

A mass repatriation of US tech firms unlikely, says SIOR Europe

Fears that recent tax proposals by US President, Joe Biden, could lead to an exodus of US tech firms from Europe have been overplayed, according to the European Chapter of global brokerage body, SIOR (The Society of Industrial & Office Realtors).

These proposals aim to discourage businesses from seeking out more benign tax jurisdictions and have raised the prospect of US tech firms abandoning European capitals.

However, should these reforms come to pass, they are likely to have a minimal impact on Europe’s prime office markets, say office specialists at SIOR Europe. “All major global businesses make their occupational decisions on a vast matrix of factors, of which prevailing corporation tax rates is just one. Factors such as access to local markets and to a wide talent pool are far more influential, along with a consideration of total occupation costs, including rent, rates and ancillary charges”, says Nick McCalmont-Woods of McCalmont-Woods Real Estate in London.

“The big brand tech giants are truly global businesses. Their customers are spread throughout every corner of the world and they likely need an operational foothold in each of these regional markets”, he continues.

“In the aftermath of President’s Biden’s announcement, Ireland and Dublin inevitably came under the spotlight. However, I believe that the US administration is principally concerned with the repatriation of profits, rather than people. Without any significant reduction in headcount by the big tech players, the impact on the office market here should be minimal. The economic impact, though, would be serious”, says James Mulhall, tenant rep specialist with Murphy Mulhall in Dublin.

Charles Tatham of Tatham Property Solutions in Paris says “Corporate tax rates are generally falling throughout Europe and will be down to 25 % in France by 2022. Perhaps more significantly for France, other costs of doing business have also changed in a generally more business-friendly environment. Labour laws, where France still has a reputation of over-protection for workers, is no longer as justified.”

The rental data below from SIOR Europe also suggests that, regardless of the proposed imposition of a global rate of corporate taxation, most European cities have a competitive advantage in terms of rents and incentives. This means that any tech businesses relocating to the US from Europe will likely be faced with increased overall occupation costs.

 

About SIOR
The Society of Industrial and Office Realtors ® (SIOR) is the leading society for industrial and office real estate professionals. Individuals who earn their SIOR designation adhere to the highest levels of accountability and ethical standards. Only the industry’s top professionals qualify for the SIOR designation. Today, there are more than 3,400 SIOR members in 686 cities in 42 countries. www.sior.com

 

The last 12 months have been transformative for businesses particularly across the office and retail sectors, forcing us all to work differently and think about how we want to work in the future.

As various organisations adopt different workplace strategies, the question on everyone’s minds is how to effectively blend home and office working to create a hybrid model.

With 39% of businesses in the UK forecasting a reduction in office space and 66% of business leaders expecting to redesign office space to better suit hybrid working, now is the time to be thinking about how to successfully design and adopt a hybrid model.

McCalmont-Woods Real Estate has, together with fellow FIDES Network members PEN Partnership, CSL Integration and Fit Out Expert, been considering what a move to a hybrid working model means for corporate office occupiers and in particular:

* What are the trends in the UK and USA?
* What opportunities does a hybrid working model present and how do they compare with a more radical shift to a fully remote model?
* What key actions do you need to take as you plan new ways of working and seek to improve productivity?
* How do you take a holistic view of future ways of working that aligns business strategy and operational excellence with real estate and technology?

FIDES Network Chairman Mike Symes said, “In a post-pandemic environment, businesses are looking for new solutions to recover, re-size and reimagine. At FIDES, we bring together brilliant people to deliver the most creative solutions.”

If you’d like to understand more, pease click ? Where and how we work has changed forever to read our views.

 

How can we help?
McCalmont-Woods Real Estate is a member of FIDES Network, a trusted independent network providing bespoke services and solutions for financial and professional services organisations, particularly during times of event-driven change.(www.fidesnetwork.com)

Because McCalmont-Woods acts only for corporate occupiers, we guarantee to provide un-conflicted advice and champion your interests as trusted advisors in real estate.

We have advised an impressive list of office occupiers from small start-ups to leading global brands across a broad range of industry sectors and on whose behalf we have produced more than £50 million cost savings to date.

 

Chiswick Park, the business campus located in West London, has announced that the world’s leading health and security services business, International SOS, has signed a reversionary lease in Building 4 to 2031. The 43,639 sq ft office is the company’s UK headquarters.

The lease renewal is testament to the culture and environment that Chiswick Park offers to its customers and demonstrates that leading businesses remain committed to securing the best office space for their staff to thrive in an environment that focuses on employee wellbeing and helps deliver corporate ESG agendas, despite the challenges posed by Covid-19.

Arnaud Vaissié, Co-founder, CEO & Chairman of International SOS, commented, ‘Our London office is critically important to us as our joint HQ and home to one of our 26 Assistance Centres. Since moving to the Chiswick Park site in 2012, we have been continually impressed with Enjoy-Work’s dedication to safety and sustainability. We are proud to make this long-term commitment to our people, our clients and to London.”

“We are delighted to continue to build on our long-term relationship with International SOS. This deal reinforces the appeal of a work environment that offers more than just an office, with plenty of outdoor space and onsite amenities available for workers. We are pleased that International SOS remains on our Campus to grow and develop further as a company “, said Matt Coulson, CEO Chiswick Park Enjoy-Work.

Chiswick Park covers 1.8 million sq ft of office space spread over 12 buildings. The Campus is home to some of the world’s leading companies including Pernod Ricard, IMG, Starbucks, Discovery and Danone.

The Park also houses over 45,000 sq ft of retail including a gym, restaurants, convenience stores and pop-up stores.

Onsite property management team, Enjoy-Work, is responsible for overseeing and performing the daily operations of the Campus as well as running a virtual programme of regular activities aiming to enhance the wellbeing and safety of its Guests.

Knight Frank acted for Chiswick Park and McCalmont-Woods Real Estate acted for International SOS.

 

About the International SOS Group of Companies
The International SOS Group of Companies is in the business of saving lives, protecting your global workforce from health and security threats. Wherever you are, we deliver customised health, security risk management and wellbeing solutions to fuel your growth and productivity. In the event of extreme weather, an epidemic or a security incident, we provide an immediate response providing peace of mind. Our innovative technology and medical and security expertise focus on prevention, offering real-time, actionable insights and on-the-ground quality delivery. We help protect your people, your organisation’s reputation, as well as support your compliance reporting needs. By partnering with us, organisations can fulfil their Duty of Care responsibilities, while empowering business resilience, continuity and sustainability.

Founded in 1985, the International SOS Group is trusted by 12,000 organisations, including the majority of the Fortune Global 500, as well as mid-size enterprises, governments, educational institutions and NGOs. 10,000 multicultural medical, security and logistics experts stand with you to provide support & assistance from over 1,000 locations in 85 countries, 24/7, 365 days.

To protect your workforce, we are at your fingertips: www.internationalsos.com

About Chiswick Park Enjoy-Work
Chiswick Park is a 1.8 million sq ft business campus located in West London, W4. Developed in 1999 and designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, it is today made up of 12 buildings, bringing together over 10,000 people from 75 of some of the world’s leading companies such as Discovery, Paramount Pictures, IMG, Starbucks and Pernod Ricard. Chiswick Park is set in 33 acres of landscape garden featuring a lake and waterfall. It also houses over 45,000 sq ft of retail space including an on-site Virgin Active gym, restaurants, convenience stores and a variety of pop-up traders and street-food vendors.

Chiswick Park is entirely managed by property management company, Enjoy-Work, which provides a range of services, facilities and entertainment for its guests on the park. The Enjoy-Work philosophy aims at providing an environment where people take pleasure at working and are therefore more productive in their work. In addition to building management, landscaping and maintenance, Enjoy-Work proposes a programme of regular activities and concierge services dedicated to the guests. https://enjoy-work.com/