Earlier this month, our Welcome offices team got together to tour some of their London offices.
Visiting buildings such as 10 Fleet Place, Aldgate House and Premier Place, it was a great opportunity to come together in person, review COVID-safe measures across the portfolio, catch up with onsite teams and get some exercise along the way.
Although government guidance on returning to the workplace has since changed, keeping our buildings safe, welcoming and fully operational remains as important as ever.
Want to know more?
Read about our ESG services
Read about our Building Wellbeing services here > https://bit.ly/3leZ0c2
Read about our Building Biodiversity services here > https://bit.ly/2SY8JrN
Find out about our Net Zero Asset Plans here: https://bit.ly/2QAin2x
In recent weeks, we’ve seen some inspirational examples across the UK of communities coming together, and the value that being part of a strong community can deliver.
The real estate industry has played its part, collaborating as a community in a way that wasn’t always evident previously, to support a range of stakeholders. From the NHS to struggling occupiers and furloughed staff there are many who have needed some help or support.
In the Welcome portfolio, we see each of our office buildings as a community, whose key stakeholders are the landlords, occupiers, receptionists and security staff, facilities suppliers and (of course) property managers. All with the common goal of creating vibrant, appealing and safe environment for staff to work in.
Creating a lasting connection
We’ve also seen in recent weeks how important the relationships cultivated within these communities are.
With most buildings running a skeleton operation at best, the temptation could be to slash services and costs as far as possible to ease the service charge burden for occupiers facing their own huge commercial challenges.
However, for these communities to return and thrive, the people that make them come alive – the front of house and onsite teams – will be needed more than ever.
From welcoming back staff, creating the environments that we have all missed while working remotely, to implementing any social distancing measures that will still be required, these teams play a vital role.
Welcoming everyone back
Fortunately, the communities within our Welcome portfolio recognise this key point and wholeheartedly embrace the challenge that lies ahead.
Even where it may have been necessary to furlough some onsite staff, with the support of occupiers, clients and our supplier partners we’ve worked hard to ensure that individuals don’t lose out. All those involved have been keen to implement any changes as sensitively as possible, with a shared responsibility for the livelihoods of all members of our community.
Fortunately, our focus now is on facilitating the re-occupation of these buildings with detailed operational and safety plans being developed. We’re confident that the strength of the relationships with all stakeholders and shared vision for the office communities we want to return to, will enable us to do so better than before.
Want to know more?
Read about our ESG services
Read about our Building Wellbeing services here > https://bit.ly/3leZ0c2
Read about our Building Biodiversity services here > https://bit.ly/2SY8JrN
Find out about our Net Zero Asset Plans here: https://bit.ly/2QAin2x
As reported in CoStar, CBRE Global Investors has appointed Welcome on a significant asset in London as we have also secured a new client, HX3 Limited.
- 40-42 Portman Square, a 100,000 sq.ft. multi-let office
- 3 Harbour Exchange for HX3 Limited.
CBRE Global Investors has appointed Welcome to manage 40-42 Portman Square, London, a 100,000 sq. ft. multi-let Grade A development designed by architects Squire and Partners. The building faces the south of Portman Square, one of London’s principal garden squares and a sought after business location.
In addition, Welcome has also been appointed by HX3 Limited to provide property management services at 3 Harbour Exchange in London Docklands. The building comprises 92,000 sq. ft. of prime multi-let office space.
Gavin Halliday, Partner at Workman and head of the Welcome service, commented:
“I am delighted to see the Welcome service so well received in the market, to have been awarded two such significant mandates is a great success. Since our launch last year, the service has grown to now manage over 4 million sq. ft. of offices space, and is building a strong reputation for establishing locations with a sense of place and community, with environments that promote wellbeing and sustainability”
Other significant assets in the portfolio include Moretown and Republic office campuses in London and Skypark and Anchorage in Glasgow and Manchester respectively.
Promoting and enabling occupier health and wellbeing is at the heart of the Welcome property management service, being a key requirement in providing the quality of environment and user experience that occupiers now demand.
As a result, we routinely run a wide programme of wellbeing initiatives across our portfolio throughout the year, tailored to each property and the preferences of our occupiers and staff.
To celebrate and promote the benefits of these activities and some of the great organisations we partner with to deliver them, we are running a concentrated week-long programme of events across the Welcome portfolio.
Welcome Wellbeing Week – 23rd-27th September 2019
The Welcome Wellbeing Week will run from 23rd to 27th September across 11 assets in London, South-East and Manchester. The timetable of activities have been specifically curated for each property and it’s occupiers and range from;
- health and fitness activities such as yoga, running clubs and fitness classes
- expert treatments and advice such as health checks, physiotherapy, massage, osteopathy and beauty treatments
- nutritional offers, freebies, pop-ups and workshops
- mindfulness activities such as meditation sessions and seminars
- social activities to promote the occupier community including a virtual reality games night and bar games for occupiers.
Previewing the week-long programme, Monika Newton, Senior Associate within the Welcome team said:
We know from our occupiers how important health & wellbeing is to their staff and what a difference these activities can make to their enjoyment of their working environment. Our management and site teams have worked hard to create this exciting week to showcase what’s available throughout the year, and hope all our occupiers enjoy what’s on offer
Follow @welcomeoffices throughout the week to see what’s going on.
Benchmarking a property’s wellbeing performance helps with occupier engagement, retention, attraction and the asset’s overall investment performance. But what exactly is ‘it’, do you really need it, and if you do, how do you implement and measure it?
We invited guests to join us to discuss the issue at a seminar hosted at Republic in London which is managed by Workman and owned by Trilogy. This multi-occupied property has undergone extensive refurbishment and has the wellbeing of occupiers at the heart of the management strategy.
The key drivers and investment performance
The event began with a thought-provoking presentation from Joanna Frank, President and CEO at the Centre for Active Design (CfAD) – the operator of Fitwel.
Joanna’s presentation was focused on the value of Fitwel for investors and occupiers, with some surprising statistics on the key drivers of the wellbeing trend and the impact that it can have on the investment performance.
Some of the key statistics and discussion points have been included in our event summary document which you can download.
If you would like a copy of the Fitwel presentation please contact us.
A carefully curated panel
We carefully selected the Q&A panellists to provide the investor, manager and occupier perspectives to debate the issue of wellbeing in property, how to implement a wellbeing programme and the benefits of doing so.
The panel discussion was facilitated by Sarah Ratcliffe of the Better Buildings Partnership.
Ben Dickins, Asset Manager For APAM, provided the investor’s perspective. Ben is the Asset Manager for Arlington Business Park, the first in the UK to achieve Fitwel certification.
Liz Allister, Park Development Manager at the award-winning Birmingham Business Park provided an insight on the practicalities of implementing and managing a wellbeing programme and the results that a successful programme can deliver – particularly around occupier retention and the impact that positive PR has had on raising the park’s profile, attracting more occupiers.
James Pack, Managing Director of Integral Group gave us the occupier’s perspective of implementing the Fitwel standard. James and his colleagues successfully achieved Europe’s first Fitwel certification for their own office space back in 2017.
For more information on how to implement a wellbeing programme – and achieve certified Fitwel status – either at a single asset or across a portfolio please do not hesitate to contact me, I’ll be happy to help.
NICK HOBBS
As part of our approach to the health and wellbeing of our occupiers, the Welcome team are working with Cycling Score to improve cycling facilities across the portfolio. Cycling Score certification is the new accreditation designed to assess the quality of cycling facilities offered at buildings. Certification is now either complete or underway at 10 Welcome buildings comprising over two million square feet.
Cycling Score’s mission is to see standards improve for occupiers who choose more active lifestyles, by recognising assets with ‘best in class provision’. The Cycling Score Certification process begins with an assessment of a building and demonstrates how exactly to raise the standard of facilities and services within a building, creating a happier, healthier workplace for occupiers. It can also be used in the planning process for new developments.
Over 100 buildings in the UK have already adopted Cycling Score Certification as landlords and developers begin to recognise the business case for ‘best in class’ facilities and services for occupiers. Cycling Score benchmarks against BREEAM, LEED and also each asset’s local borough planning guidance. They are also the global advisors to WELL Certification.
The Cycling Score “BUG” programme is being rolled out across the Welcome assets as a key wellbeing initiative during 2019
In addition to the initial certification, Cycling Score also facilitates a programme of occupier engagement services which perfectly complement the Welcome approach. Their new platform called the Cycling Score BUG (Bicycle User Group) enables cyclists to set up teams, compete against others in the building and even compete against buildings all over the globe. The Cycling Score BUG programme is being rolled out across the Welcome assets as a key health and wellbeing initiative during 2019, as part of our overall approach to delivering an enhanced level of occupier experience within our assets and we look forward to seeing the results.
Anthony Boothman, Partner in our Manchester office, was recently asked to contribute to an article by North West Insider about how the traditional commercial property management model is changing.
Along with other real estate experts in the city from the likes of Aviva Investors, he discusses how the demands of modern occupiers are shaping the future of property management into a more customer-focused service.
As highlighted in the article, it was because of this trend that Welcome was launched last year. Although the level of customer service and quality of occupier experience now required is way beyond the traditional remit of the property manager, some things don’t change, as Anthony points out:
“Its about knowing your occupiers and what they want”.
Read the full article at North West Business Insider here.
As reported in CoStar, two more office assets have been added to the Welcome portfolio.
Workman has been selected by Canmoor to provide the Welcome service at Anchorage in Salford Quays, Greater Manchester. Canmoor is currently refurbishing the 220,000 sq.ft complex that will introduce a new look atrium area, accompanying amenities and Grade A and flexible office space.
At Aldgate House in the City of London, Workman have been appointed to provide the ‘Welcome’ service, following the acquisition of the 211,000 sq ft City building in September 2018 by Singapore-listed real estate operating company City Developments Limited (CDL).
Gavin Halliday, Partner at Workman LLP, commented:
“Workman’s instruction to deliver the Welcome service at both Anchorage and Aldgate House is further validation of our track record for delivering the highest level of customer service and exceeding occupier expectations, which we know directly contributes to our clients’ investment performance through improved occupier retention. CDL’s decision to retain us also spoke volumes about the operational standards the ‘Welcome’ brand delivers to modern occupiers, and we are now looking forward to bringing our specialist skills to bear and delivering performance and value for both Canmoor and CDL.”
Frank Khoo, Group Chief Investment Officer at CDL, commented:
“As a major landlord with over 18 million sq ft of lettable space globally, CDL is committed to delivering value to our tenants and building occupants. Our focus to drive exceptional customer experience is core to our asset management strategy. Through our partnership with property manager Workman for Aldgate House, we are able to leverage their insights and bespoke ‘Welcome’ service to consistently achieve high standards of office management and elevate the workspace experience for our building users.”
Since its launch six months ago, the ‘Welcome’ brand has grown to 18 assets, which is setting a new standard in property management for modern office occupiers.
These appointments bring the Welcome portfolio to nearly 4m sq.ft, with assets including the Moretown and Republic office campuses in London, as well as Skypark in Glasgow.
Republic London played host to the first ever Courier Live festival on Friday 28th September, the latest event in the transformation of this site to a modern ‘next generation campus’ in East London.
Organised by Courier Magazine, the event was a celebration of modern business and startup culture in London with over 100 speakers and brands participating in a range of talks, panel discussions and interviews as well as the Courier Live Market showcasing a range of startup brands. With a selection of London’s best street food vendors and afterparty as well, the event combined the best London has to offer for both work and play for an estimated 1,000 visitors. Our team on site played a vital role behind the scenes in the lead up to, and during, the event to ensure the event ran smoothly and the site looked its best.
a celebration of modern business and startup culture in London
The event coincided with the launch of the Import Building at Republic and showcased the whole campus perfectly, particularly the newly developed pubic realm. A great example of an event that combines business and local community while also providing a great experience for occupiers on site.
Click here and at Republic to see images from the day.
Gavin Halliday, Partner in our London Cheapside office, was recently invited to discuss the launch of the Welcome service with EG for a recently published podcast interview.
Hear why we think market forces mean the Welcome approach to property management is so important in today’s market and how we’ve developed and trialled the service so far.