why you should review your premises needs now

22 May 2020

Many shops, offices, warehouses, factories and leisure facilities sit idle today across the country, with many of these appearing to never re-open again in the same way.

Some businesses have been able to thrive, others struggle on, whilst those who are entirely reliant on their premises for their business model have been decimated. Needing to get the doors open again as soon as possible.

 

advancement of remote working

Home working, Video conferencing, Zoom calls and online collaboration have been embraced by many office based businesses, in many cases accelerating an already emerging trend towards home working, hot desking, agile working and a move away from the traditional 9-5 office based culture.

Online retail has again taken a huge stride forward and many manufacturers and distributors have developed smart solutions to continue to operate under the restrictions in place.

In all sectors, this crisis will undoubtedly make many businesses consider their future premises requirements both in the short term to deal with ongoing social distancing requirements and longer term on the basis many may be considering whether the space they currently occupy is ‘right’ for the post COVID-19 version of their business.

Planning for Tomorrow

Looking to the post COVID-19 future you need to think about whether you should accelerate programmes to promote home working and flexible working practices. Subsequently, that will most likely reduce the requirement for your physical space. It’s estimated that office space requirements will fall across the market in the coming year, at a rate of 10 – 20%.

If you have a strong financial requirement to reduce your exposure to property costs, then now is the time to look at renegotiation of terms and to manage your property costs  to enable your business to recover. Maybe your business has contracted to a point where your premises are now too big for your requirements? If this is the case then we’d recommend you look at all the options you have around re-negotiation or consider subletting some of the property.

On the flip side if your business has flourished and you now need more space or a different type of space to support the growth of the business going forward, then you may well be in a good position to secure new premises or more space at reduced rates.

Whatever your scenario, it’s unlikely that you won’t need to consider whether their current premises are fit for purpose on the other side.

Working Together to get the right space, with the right terms at the right price

We’re already working together with several business owners to review their future property needs and get the right solution for both now and in the future. The team at Fortus can work with you to review the premises you have, understand and evaluate your financial and legal commitments to these premises, and prepare a strategy to assist your business in transitioning from the space it currently occupies, to the space it needs on the other side.

Short term space planning will be required to revise the setup of your premises to adhere to social distancing regulations. If your business is tied into long term lease commitments, we can review options in terms of surrendering, subletting or assigning leases in the market. We can lead the search for new premises to better suit your business and evaluate the options and negotiate terms, future proofing deals with pandemic related clauses to protect against any future scenario.

Landlords may find they have a high churn of Tenants over the coming years and our award-winning agency team can help with a comprehensive sales & leasing strategy based on the understanding of the changes in the market landscape on the other side.

However, in the case you may need to consider insolvency options or investment may be required in technology and systems – that can support a new way of working on the other side, with a permanent shift to home working. Our team can support you on that journey and provide a holistic approach to ensuring your business premises are set up to thrive on the other side.

 

Ask yourself these Questions:

  • Are you concerned about your ability to meet your property cost commitments over the next 12 months?
  • If you own property, are you concerned about your Tenants’ ability to meet their commitments over the next 12 months?
  • Has the COVID-19 lockdown changed your business’ approach to remote working?
  • On the other side does your business need more or less physical space?
  • Does your business have the technological solutions in place to support a long-term shift in working practices?

Contact Tom Dymond or call 01604 273782 to chat through your property commitments and how we can help you build a strategy for tomorrow.

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