Archive for the ‘Avison Young’ Category

Jorden Salata team joins Avison Young in London, U.K.

Tuesday, October 13th, 2015

New team to focus on upgrading sub-par property

London, U.K. – October 13, 2015 – Nick Cook, Avison Young Principal and Managing Director of the company’s U.K. operations, announced today that leading commercial real estate industry professional Anthony Salata and his team, including Richard Dennis-Smith and Dana Genis, have joined the firm in its London West End office.

The team will continue to specialise in helping  its clients enhance problem property assets and realise value from distressed portfolios.

The team will focus on working with Avison Young’s banking and funding clients to advise on valuations for new lending and also to review existing portfolios where lenders may have concerns. In addition, the team will work with Avison Young’s global asset management professionals to advise global occupier clients in order to offer a due diligence service on behalf of purchasers of debt portfolios.

Anthony Salata

Jorden Salata team joins Avison Young in London, U.K.

Salata offers 33 years of industry experience in the fields of valuation, investment and development appraisal. Salata is a former chair of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) dispute resolution practice panel, while Dennis-Smith is a chartered surveyor with more than 20 years of experience, and a member of the Investment Property Forum and RICS regeneration forum.

 

 


About Avison Young
Avison Young is the world’s fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Avison Young is a collaborative, global firm owned and operated by its principals. Founded in 1978, the company comprises 2,000 real estate professionals in 71 offices, providing value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial and multi-family properties.

Over the past six and a half years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to 71 offices and from 300 to more than 2,000 real estate professionals across Canada, the U.S. and in Europe. Avison Young launched its European presence in April 2014 when the firm acquired NAI Haywards and opened new offices in London’s West End and the Thames Valley in the U.K. Since then, the company has expanded its European operations by opening offices in Frankfurt in 2014, as well as Munich, Dusseldorf and Hamburg in 2015.

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New research shows people now more important than cost when it comes to workplace strategies

Thursday, July 30th, 2015
  • Employee productivity seen as almost three times as important as reducing cost
  • Employee engagement metrics are seen as more important than cost metrics
  • The use of non-owned space is on the rise and now part of the strategy
  • Over three quarters believe that employees should be treated like guests or customers with services that enable them to be more productive
  • Boards split into three groups from early adopters to laggards when it comes to workplace thinking

London, July 30th, 2015 – New research from the Property Directors Forum confirms that the historical focus on cost – and in particular cost reduction – has been replaced by priorities that are all people oriented.  The number one priority is now greater employee productivity for 40% of property directors.  The number two priority (28%) is attracting and retaining the best talent.

As a result of this new focus on people, ‘soft metrics’ such as employee engagement, satisfaction and retention are now preferred by 61% of property directors for measuring the performance of workplace strategies.  Traditional space and furniture or business agility metrics take the last two places in the ranking.

Infographic: Workplace Strategy and its Implications for Property Directors (1200x5134px)

While productivity is a high priority, ‘wellness’ is not
82% of property directors believe an effective workplace strategy needs to cater for the different needs of each generation of employee.  However, despite the priority given to attracting the best talent and achieving improved productivity, employee wellness is still not being given much importance in the workplace (5%).  This suggest that organisations may need expert help in developing a joined-up approach to creating a people-centred workplace strategy.

Use of non-owned space up dramatically and now part of the strategy
Half of property directors (50%) reported an increase in the use of non-owned space like coffee shops or short-term meeting rooms.  In fact, the future for the likes of Starbucks looks rosy as 86% of property directors think that the use of non-owned space should be planned for in advance when drawing up a workplace strategy.

In addition, members expressed the need for workplace strategies to have a more holistic approach that goes beyond the confines of the owned building to include the quality of the local facilities in the public realm.  It is thought that the quality of both office (82%) and non-owned (68%) space are very important to the ability to attract and retain the best staff.  69% of members agree that the right mix of open space, enclosed/quiet space, collaboration/concentration space and social space is needed to create a truly successful working environment.

Early adopters will attract the best people
The research shows that Boards are split into three ‘generations: early adopters who see workplace strategy as vital to success (27%); the ‘majority’ who think it is important but haven’t actioned it yet (45%) and, the ‘laggards’ for whom workplace isn’t on the agenda at all (23%).

The research followed a Forum event on June 18th and includes contributions from some of the UK’s most significant occupiers with combined revenues of over £600bn.  

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About Property Directors Forum
The Property Directors Forum (PDF) is an exclusive, invitation-only community that was created to provide Occupier Property Directors with a stronger VOICE in the market. The Forum now has over 120 active members of its LinkedIn Group and over 230 who have attended events. Forum members manage over 60,000 properties, employ more than 2million people in the UK and have a combined revenue total of over £600bn per annum. http://www.propertydirectorsforum.com/

 

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Chairman of RICS Management Consultancy Group joins Avison Young in London, U.K.

Monday, July 13th, 2015

Graham Halkyard is the latest addition to rapidly growing client services team

London, U.K. – July 13, 2015 — Nick Cook, Avison Young Principal and Managing Director of the company’s U.K. operations, announced today that Graham Halkyard has joined Avison Young as Director of Global Occupier Solutions in London.

GrahamHalkyard joins Avison Young

Graham Halkyard joins Avison Young as Director of Global Occupier Solutions in London

Halkyard is the latest addition to Avison Young’s rapidly growing senior consulting team. Effective immediately, he will focus on helping clients deliver business transformations by using the built environment in a more innovative way. In addition, he will be consulting on major change initiatives, efficiency improvements, cost saving, supplier selection and real estate strategy, as the company increases its capabilities for clients with an international platform. Collaborating with his U.S. and Canadian colleagues, he will also help further raise Avison Young’s profile as a real estate solutions provider to clients with international portfolios.

Halkyard brings more than 20 years of real estate industry and management consultancy experience to Avison Young, most recently as a director of Selsby Consulting, a niche property and facilities management consultancy.  He continues to chair the board of the RICS Management Consultancy Professional Group.

Prior to joining Selsby Consulting, Halkyard served as a property business partner and estate management director of Barclays Bank. Before that, he was a partner at Donaldsons LLP where he was responsible for a team delivering multi-discipline services to key corporate clients.

During his career as a strategic adviser and subject matter expert, Halkyard developed a track record for delivering complex organisational transformation and operational change projects on behalf of a mix of corporate organisations across the U.K. and Central Europe.

At Avison Young, Halkyard will work alongside Andy Hammond, who was recently appointed Director of Workplace and Occupier Solutions; and Duncan Hamilton, Director of Global Client Services who, in recent years, has managed corporate projects comprising more than 2 million square metres across the EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions.

Avison Young launched its European presence in April 2014 when the firm acquired NAI Haywards and opened new offices in London and Thames Valley, U.K.

Over the past six years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to 67 offices and from 300 to more than 1,900 real estate professionals across Canada, the U.S. and in Europe.

Avison Young is the world’s fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Avison Young is a collaborative, global firm owned and operated by its principals. Founded in 1978, the company comprises 1,900 real estate professionals in 67 offices, providing value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial and multi-family properties.

Avison Young was a winner of Canada’s Best Managed Companies program in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and has demonstrated its commitment to the program and successfully reapplied for the designation as a Gold Standard winner in 2014. 

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Andy Hammond joins Avison Young workplace consultancy and global occupier solutions team

Friday, June 26th, 2015

London, June 29, 2015 — Andy Hammond has joined Avison Young in London as Director of Occupier Solutions and Workplace.

Andy Hammond has joined Avison Young in London as Director of Occupier Solutions and Workplace

Hammond will lead Avison Young’s U.K. workplace consultancy practice and serve as part of the firm’s global occupier solutions team. The focus of this multi-skilled team is to develop intelligent solutions that increase staff well-being and performance whilst ensuring the real estate burden remains aligned with the client’s business metrics.

Hammond brings 25 years of real estate industry experience to Avison Young, most recently as Head of Programme Management/Principal Consultant at EC Harris, a global built asset consultancy.

During his career, Hammond has advised and led a number of high-profile business change programmes on behalf of a mix of corporate organisations across the U.K. and Central Europe.

Recent notable projects include: property restructuring at Travelex which resulted in a rent reduction of £500,000 for 2015 and Opex saving of £200,000 per annum in the U.K.; the major refurbishment of Ladbrokes’ headquarters building of 10,000 square meters; the relocation and refurbishment of Rolls-Royce Plc’s offices in major Central European locations, which included Brussels, Krakow and Prague, and the refurbishment of the automobile firm’s group headquarters in London; and the master planning of a 6.8-acre mixed office and manufacturing location near Berlin.

At Avison Young, Hammond will work alongside Director of Global Client Services Duncan Hamilton, another highly experienced real estate manager who, in recent years, has managed corporate projects comprising more than 2 million square meters across the EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions.

Avison Young launched its European presence in April 2014 when the firm acquired NAI Haywards and opened new offices in London and Thames Valley, U.K.

Over the past six years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to 67 offices and from 300 to more than 1,900 real estate professionals across Canada, the U.S. and Europe.

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Avison Young is the world’s fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Avison Young is a collaborative, global firm owned and operated by its principals. Founded in 1978, the company comprises 1,900 real estate professionals in 67 offices, providing value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial and multi-family properties.

 

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Avison Young creates new Investment practice by hiring Mark Holliday and Richard Worrall from Chestertons

Monday, February 23rd, 2015

Mark Holliday and Richard Worrall join Avison Young in London, U.K.

– Highly regarded capital markets team joins Avison Young

London, U.K. — Nick Cook, Avison Young Principal and Managing Director of the company’s U.K. operations, announced today that Mark Holliday and Richard Worrall have joined the firm in London.

Effective immediately, Holliday joins Avison Young as a Principal and Worrall becomes an Associate Director. The investment specialists will focus on the acquisition and disposal of investment properties in the U.K. Holliday and Worrall have a combined 40-plus years of experience in the real estate industry, most recently at Chestertons, where Holliday was a Board Director and Worrall an Associate Director.

Avison Young launched its European presence in April 2014 when the firm acquired NAI Haywards and opened new offices in London and Thames Valley. Avison Young has since opened two further European offices in Frankfurt (December 1, 2014) and Munich (January 21, 2015).

During their careers, Holliday and Worrall have worked on a wide range of large commercial and residential projects in Central London and across the U.K., on behalf of a mix of clients including institutional investors, property companies and domestic/overseas private investors.

Recent notable transactions include advising on the off-market acquisition of a block of 96 flats and 12 retail units in Hackney, London for approximately £20 million; the sale of a 467,323-square-foot (sf) distribution centre in Northamptonshire for £32.5 million; and the acquisition of Tesco Supermarket in Gloucestershire for £29.22 million.

Mark HollidayHolliday brings to Avison Young more than 30 years of property experience, specializing in larger investment transactions while acting on behalf of both sellers and buyers across the U.K. Past and current clients include U.K. institutions, property firms, U.S. private-equity funds and high-net-worth individuals. Prior to serving as a Board Director of Chestertons, based in the London West End office, Holliday served as a Senior Director of CBRE’s capital markets division in London. He also previously worked with Jones Lang LaSalle and other real estate firms in Australia, Singapore and Indonesia, providing Holliday with a unique insight into the Australasian markets. As an ex-officer in HM Forces, Holliday is a keen supporter of the charity Help the Heroes.

Richard Worrall

With more than 10 years of property experience, Worrall started his career with BNP Paribas Real Estate U.K. After working in Asia for two years, he joined the investment team at Chestertons in 2010 where he was an Associate Director.

Today’s announcement comes on the heels of Avison Young acquiring Calgary-based property management firm Peregrin Inc. on February 12, 2015.

Over the past six years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to 64 offices and from 300 to more than 1,700 real estate professionals in Canada, the U.S. and Europe.

Avison Young is the world’s fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Avison Young is a collaborative, global firm owned and operated by its principals. Founded in 1978, the company comprises 1,700 real estate professionals in 64 offices, providing value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial and multi-family properties.

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Property Directors Forum calls for increased lease flexibility, improved landlord relationships and, signals increased focus on space utilisation for 2015

Thursday, December 11th, 2014
  • 88% of Directors believe more lease flexibility is essential to allow them to compete
  • 59% think FRS 12 is failing to encourage best behaviours for releasing surplus space.
  • 86% think landlord consent is still taking too long
  • Three quarters of Property Directors (76%) will be focusing on improving their space utilisation in 2015

Infographic:PDF_What's on the Agenda for 2015?London, December 11th, 2014 – Members of the Property Directors Forum are calling on landlords to deliver greater lease flexibility in 2015 to provide the right environment for growth. 88% of members felt this was essential and want to see improvement in the following areas: breaks/exits, term length, sub-letting and dilapidation/reinstatement. Another key area is landlord consent. These are still taking too long for 86% of occupiers. There is an increasing desire to change rent payments from quarterly to monthly. Members also want to see better communication with and by landlords so that more productive relationships can be developed.

Driving this focus on flexibility is the recognition that the recovery is not yet secured and that competition in the global economy means that businesses need to adapt quickly. Recent announcements by the Office of Budget Responsibility show that there is a need for continuing innovation in the property sector to make sure the recovery does not stall.

Because of the need for continuing innovation, the majority of Property Directors (76%) agreed that there is still room for improvement in space utilisation. A wide range of solutions are being explored such as alternative work styles, hub and spoking and moves like  Salvatore Ferragamo (Bond Street) and Nicole Farhi (Conduit Street) who have expanded into their office space above the retail element to avoid the extra rental.  Members also identified that FRS 12 is not having the desired effect in driving more effective utilisation. In fact, 59% believe that FRS 12 is failing to encourage best practice for releasing surplus space.

The predictions are the result of round table debates at the Forum event on November 13th and a survey of members. The Forum represents some of the UK’s most significant occupiers with combined revenues of over £500bn and is designed to provide a voice for Occupiers.

About Property Directors Forum
The Property Directors Forum (PDF) is an exclusive, invitation-only community that was created to provide Occupier Property Directors with a stronger VOICE in the market. The Forum now has over 90 active members of its LinkedIn Group and over 200 who have attended events. Forum members manage over 15,000 properties, employ more than 2million people in the UK and have a combined revenue total of over £500bn per annum. http://www.propertydirectorsforum.com/

 

 

 

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Avison Young UK predictions for the 2015 commercial property market

Wednesday, December 10th, 2014

Nick Cook, Avison Young Principal and Managing Director of the company’s U.K. operations, predicts the following:

  1. As a result of the recovering economy and the robust commercial property market, many landlords will leverage their position in the market by ignoring the need for continuing lease flexibility.  They will reduce lease incentives, increase rents and try to secure more landlord-favourable lease conditions.
  2. We predict that in 2015 there will be a very different approach from many occupiers. This will include the following:
    • Occupiers will review what staff must be London-based and look to move the others to cheaper locations
    • Alternative work styles will prevail but they will mature as it is clear that some ‘solutions’ such as remote working does not work for many organisations
    • Occupiers will adopt a more radical approach to space utilisation that will accelerate the move towards hub and spoking and other workstyle solutions.
  3. The acute lack of the right space whether it is for distribution / logistic companies, office users or industrialists means that the pre-let market will be even more active.  The need for occupiers to plan and ‘tool’ up with good advisors will be a must.
  4. The uncertainty caused by the General Election will slow down the commitment by occupiers to invest at the current rate.
  5. Foreign investors will continue to acquire London property despite the low yields since the sheer weight of cash will have to find a home and where better than the UK and key thriving centres.
  6. An increasingly aggressive attitude to asset management will develop as investors will demand the best returns and their advisors seek to add value in a market where the tenants hunting for good space will exceed supply!

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About Avison Young
Avison Young is the world’s fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Avison Young is a collaborative, global firm owned and operated by its principals. Founded in 1978, the company comprises 1,700 real estate professionals in 62 offices, providing value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial and multi-family properties.

www.avisonyoung.com

Avison Young was a winner of Canada’s Best Managed Companies program in 2011 and 2012 and re-qualified in 2013 to maintain its status as a Best Managed company

Follow Avison Young on Twitter:

For industry news, press releases and market reports: www.twitter.com/avisonyoung

For Avison Young listings and deals: www.twitter.com/AYListingsDeals

Follow Avison Young Bloggers: http://blog.avisonyoung.com

Follow Avison Young on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/avison-young-commercial-real-estate

 

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Robert Smith joins Avison Young lease advisory team in U.K.

Wednesday, July 9th, 2014

London, U.K. — Nick Cook, Avison Young Principal and Managing Director of the company’s London and Thames Valley offices, announced today that Robert Smith has joined the firm as a Director of Lease Advisory Services for the U.K.

Robert SmithSmith will join Avison Young’s lease advisory services team in London and will also provide strategic input on expansion into other European office-leasing markets as the company continues to expand its global market presence. Smith was most recently a Director with Copping Joyce and Strutt & Parker.

Smith brings 20 years of commercial real estate and surveying experience to Avison Young. During his career, Smith has driven numerous high profile re-gearing and rent review negotiations on behalf of occupiers and investment companies, such as Threadneedle, Aviva Investors, Hermes, Standard Life and Fidelity Investments.

At Avison Young, Smith will work alongside Tessa Passey, another highly experienced lease advisor and RICS assessor (based in the London office) who has advised a number of significant companies, including Allied Irish Bank, Barclays, Morgan Stanley, Nike, Clinton Cards, Leagas Delaney and HSS Hire.

Avison Young launched its European presence in April 2014 when the firm acquired NAI Haywards and opened new offices in London and Thames Valley, U.K.

About Avison Young
Avison Young is the world’s fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Avison Young is a collaborative, global firm owned and operated by its principals. Founded in 1978, the company comprises 1,500 real estate professionals in 58 offices, providing value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial and multi-family properties.

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For further information/comment/photos:

  • Nick Cook, Principal and Managing Director, London, Avison Young: +44 (0)20 7041 9999
  • Robert Smith, Director of Lease Advisory Services, London, Avison Young: +44 (0)20 7041 9992
  • Marta Drozdz, ONVA PR: +44 (0)20 8224 7973

www.avisonyoung.com

Avison Young was a winner of Canada’s Best Managed Companies program in 2011 and 2012 and requalified in 2013 to maintain its status as a Best Managed company.

Follow Avison Young on Twitter:

For industry news, press releases and market reports: www.twitter.com/avisonyoung

For Avison Young listings and deals: www.twitter.com/AYListingsDeals

Follow Avison Young Bloggers: http://blog.avisonyoung.com

Follow Avison Young on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/avison-young-commercial-real-estate

 

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