Remit Consulting News Feed

Katie England - budding Olympian

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:07:14 GMT

With the 2012 Olympics being a resounding success, and sporting optimisum still in the air, Remit has decided to sponsor a budding 2016 Olympian - Katie England. Katie is a talented show jumper with big plans for the international stage!

We'll be posing regular updates from Katie about her show jumping progress throughout 2013 and you can read her first training post here.

Working Virtually - the hot topic

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:07:14 GMT

Working virtually is the ability to work anywhere you want to, not to be tied down by technology or infrastructure.

Marissa Mayer, president and CEO of Yahoo! recently brought virtual working back into the headlines after issuing a company-wide communication ordering all employees to come back into the office to work - a controversial move for some. You can find plenty of articles both praising and criticising her decision, and it seems that this is a hot topic of the moment.

Modus, the regular RICS magazine, recently published a whole issue dedicated to virtual working within the industry. One article, focusing on how the move will affect the property industry, featured Melita talking about how Remit manage flexible working. You can read the article and Melita's contribution here.

Meanwhile, Andrew was also asked to talk about the same topic at a recent TAGtribe breakfast. The attendees had a healthy variety of opinions and a lengthy discussion ensued about the pros and cons of working virtually and the best tools for the job.

If you want to discuss the topic with us, or find out more about how Remit manages working virtually, please get in touch.

New Assistant Consultant

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:07:14 GMT

Remit is delighted to welcome a new graduate to the UK team.

Jamie Henderson has been working with us since September 2012 and is now a bona fide member of staff. He is a languages whizz, with a degree in French and Spanish, and a Masters in Real Estate from Kingston University. Jamie hopes to start his APC imminently and we all look forward to working with him in the years to come.

Getting into Property - a Property News article

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:07:14 GMT

Steph, one of our Assistant Consultants, was asked last year if she'd be interested in adding to a collection of blogs run by Property News. She is contributing to the graduate surveyor section of the website, and her first post on getting into property has just been published.

Steph talks about how property wasn't her first choice of career, university was definitely not what she expected and how entering the job market in 2009 was far from ideal. The story has a happy ending though.

Getting into Property - a Property News article

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:07:14 GMT

The BLP Outsourcing Breakfast

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:07:14 GMT

Andrew and Melita were delighted to be asked to talk at the most recent Berwin Leighton Paisner Outsourcing Breakfast, held at their London Bridge offices on 17th January.

Melita spoke about Corporate Real Estate outsourcing, its scope and delivery, how it differs from investment outsourcing, and the current trends within the industry, while Andrew talked through our latest REMark results and what they say about the property management services industry.

Attendance levels were fantastic, with plenty of prominent leaders coming out to hear what Remit had to say.

To read Melita's top tips on CRE outsourcing, and Andrew's insights into property management services, click here.

REMark results announced

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:07:14 GMT

Today saw the release of REMark, our property management services study, at the Berwin Leighton Paisner Outsourcing Breakfast. Following a presentation by Melita on the structure of property outsourcing, Andrew gave an informative talk on the results of the survey to the interested crowd which you can read more about here.

Highlights of the research include:

Collection figures have improved overall since 2010 – The average collection of rent and service charge has risen by 20%;
Efficiency figures have also improved, with the average number of leases handled per surveyor up 25%;
We expect there are more improvements to come as the gap between most and least efficient is very wide;
The big firms are benefitting from recent investment as JLL, CBRE and Savills – large firms as a whole have better collection performance than small ones;
Using industry averages, the staffing cost alone should exceed the average fee per lease, wiping out any profit. If property management is acting as the loss leader, it will have little resilience against shocks in the current market.

You can download a copy of the REMark 2013 Summary here.

The full report is only available to participants, but if you want to take part in future REMark surveys, please get in touch.

IT in a changing environment - round table discussion

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:07:14 GMT

The demand for integrated and automated property systems in the Netherlands and the standardisation of reporting to all main stakeholders has increased significantly over the last couple of years as a result of the continuing economic crisis. The resulting change in IT strategies has thrown up some great opportunities for consulting firms like Remit.

Hans Gerritsen was recently asked to speak on the subject by Vastgoedmarkt (a weekly magazine focused on the Dutch property industry) at a round table discussion. The main topic was the continuing property crisis in The Netherlands and the subsequent consequences of the projected regulatory reporting requirements (like AIFMD, INREV and a like) for fund managers and property investors.

Each expert spoke on the matter from their specialist point of view and Hans talked about how the tightening of reporting requirements have created a greater awareness around improving and increasing efficiencies in business reporting and analysis for property investment companies.

You can read the Dutch Vastgoedmarkt article here, or to contact Hans for more information, please head over to our Contact Us page.

RICS/Corenet UK Chapter Property in the Economy Seminar

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:07:14 GMT

As part of this seminar on Corporate Real Estate on 22nd October 2012, Andrew was asked to facilitate a session where the audience could discuss the use of Cloud technology within our industry.

The audience covered a complete range of familiarity with Cloud computing – on the one hand we had a business owner who telecommuted from Australia; on the other, we heard from people making their first steps into using this technology more effectively. In between, there were many from global companies who were increasingly harnessing this technology to the benefit of users and use of office space.

The discussion showed that Cloud computing is making the jump to being mainstream more quickly than many anticipated.

Berwin Leighton Paisner Outsourcing Breakfast

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:07:14 GMT

Melita and Andrew will be presenting at a Berwin Leighton Paisner Outsourcing Breakfast on 17th January 2013.

The presentation will focus on current developments and future trends in outsourcing in the real estate market. Starting with an update on the latest findings from the REMark Survey into property management performance for investors, they will explore how outsourcing differs between the investor and CRE sectors and offer suggestions about what each can each learn from the other.

If you would like to attend the event, please email Jamie Henderson for an invitation.

New UK Directors

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:07:14 GMT

Remit is delighted to welcome three new Directors to the UK team:

Bridget Hardy: government property expert and workplace guru;
Claudine Rangecroft: business consultant specialising in change management with a wide breadth of experience;
Neil Webster: public sector expert and keen cyclist.

Neil, Bridget and Claudine have all worked with Remit in the past and present, and we look forward to continuing to work with them in the future.

To find out more about Neil, Bridget and Claudine, please Meet the Team.

Competition Winner

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:07:14 GMT

Drumroll please! Our competition to guess the skylines and buildings featured on our brand new website was won by...

...Alun Oliver of E3 Consulting!

A bottle of champagne will be winging its way to you soon Alun. We hope you enjoy it.

For those who were stuck, the answers are:

The skyline of Frankfurt
The Bullring shopping centre, Birmingham
The Reichstag, Berlin
Media Harbour, Dusseldorf
My Zeil shopping centre, Frankfurt
New Town Hall, Munich
The Gherkin, London
Erasmus Bridge, Rotterdam
La Grande Arche de la Defense, Paris
The Shard, London

Cycling and the Modern Workplace

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:07:15 GMT

Many workers now, as well as donning lycra at the weekend, regularly travel to work by bike particularly in London. This is having a significant beneficial impact on their health but also on the workplace. More people are requiring, as a minimum, safe cycle storage, lockers and shower facilities.

Neil Webster, director at Remit, wanted to know what the impact of the rising popularity of cycling was having on the modern workplace. The British Council for Offices took the idea on and developed a research questionnaire, the results of which were published in the report "Cycling and the Modern Workplace" below. The research combined with various online discussions unearthed a number of occupiers and developers who have already responded to the demand by providing buildings which meet the exacting demands of the commuter cyclist. However, retro fitting buildings with shower and storage facilities isn't always easy or cheap.

The research report can be downloaded here.

The report was followed by a BCO event in which Neil chaired a discussion of the same name along with speakers from Deloitte, Lend Lease and Pearson Cycle Specialists.

To find out more, or to discuss the topic in more depth please contact Neil.

Competition

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:07:15 GMT

To celebrate the launch of our new brand and website, we are running a competition.

The first person to contact us with the names of all ten buildings and skylines featured on the revolving section of our new home page will win a bottle of champagne!

We will announce the name of the winner in 2 weeks time.

Terms and conditions

1. People who are employed by or personally linked to Remit Consulting are not eligible to enter the competition

2. The winner will be the first person to respond and provide a complete answer in the opinion of the judges

3. No purchase necessary

Enter here.

Aspers case study

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:07:15 GMT

Aspers had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to expand by opening the only large casino to be permitted in London since new legislation in 2005.

"It was a big prize" says Deborah Roil, Development Director of Aspers. However time was tight and Aspers would need help to get it completed on time, and to the best possible quality.

To find out how they achieved it, read our case study.

LaSalle Investment Management Case study

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:07:15 GMT

LaSalle Investment Management’s European operation was faced with a challenge: doing more work at the price that clients now demand. This additional work needed to be done by the same number of people: LaSalle needed to increase efficiency.

Find out how they faced the challenge and succeeded, here...

Olympic torch bearer

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:07:15 GMT

Cat Bull, the daughter of Remit Assocate Rod Bull, had the honour of being one of the Olympic torch bearers on 24th June, carrying the Olympic flame through Keighley, West Yorkshire.

You can read more about why Cat was picked to be a torchbearer, and her inspirational story here.

IPF Dinner

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:07:15 GMT

On 27^th June, Hans and Thibaud came over from Europe to join Andrew, Mark and Melita at the annual IPF Dinner.

Jonathan Edwards, the current triple jump record holder, Olympic gold medalist and LOCOG Board member, was the after dinner speaker - a break from the usual comedians - and he gave a quietly confident talk about how we all need a goal in life. It was a compelling talk and kept everyone's attention.

We were delighted to be joined by Jenny Mulligan of the Crown Estate, Wynand Bezuidenhoudt from Invesco, Richard Grant of Cadogan Estates, Ryan Perryman from Hammerson and Maqbool Mohamed from CITCO.

Did you spot Andrew in Modus?

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:07:15 GMT

If you receive the RICS Modus magazine, you won't have failed to see Andrew Waller's piece this month. With a photo on the contents page, and an imposing double paged spread, Andrew has certainly made a splash (feigning modesty, he says he only realised it had been published when his Mum rang on Saturday morning to say she'd seen it!).

In the interview, Andrew talks to Brendon Hooper about his favourite topic: social media.

You can download a PDF copy of Andrew's piece here. Alternatively, you can view the entire Modus magazine at the RICS website.

Did you spot Andrew in Modus?

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:07:15 GMT

In the interview, Andrew talks to Brendon Hooper about his favourite topic: social media.

You can download a PDF copy of Andrew's piece here. Alternatively, you can view the entire Modus magazine at the RICS website.