What Tenants Want: UK occupiers’ requirements when renting commercial property and strategic implications for landlords

Businesses need property in order to generate turnover and profits. If real estate owners are to be able to provide properties and related services that are desirable, it is crucial that they understand tenants’ requirements and preferences. Changes in the way businesses operate might well lead to an overall reduction in space requirements in all sectors. Faced with reductions in demand, landlords will find themselves in an increasingly competitive marketplace for tenants. Of the array of strategies available to landlords, what strategies should they employ for maximum effect? This paper examines what United Kingdom tenants want from commercial property (retail, industrial and office). The first part provides an analysis of data from several hundred interviews with occupiers of commercial properties owned by some of the largest UK real estate investment companies. Results are presented for each of the asset classes separately. The second part compares the findings with previous research and discusses the strategic implications for landlords

Key investors and their strategies in the expansion of European student housing investment

The aim of this paper is to understand the expansion process of investment into Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) in Europe by examining transformations in student housing investment landscapes and uncovering the profiles and strategies of key investors between 2010 and 2020. Using data from Real Capital Analytics, trends in capital structures and profiles of PBSA investors are identified. Investors driving these trends are scrutinised in terms of their investment timelines, locations, hold periods and strategies of portfolio diversification. Furthermore, in-depth interviews with property analysts, PBSA investors, and developers substantiate the quantitative analysis. The empirical results show that Private Equity entered the European PBSA market, starting with the UK, when the yield premium post-GFC justified the perceived risk. Equity funds typically hold their portfolios for around five years and trade counter-cyclically with institutions such as pension funds. PBSA specialists, mainly REITs, have accumulated substantial portfolios, and the REIT structure is well-suited to the steady income which student rents should provide, but their lack of diversification leaves them vulnerable to changes in student demographics and accommodation requirements

The tenant as a customer: can good service improve real estate performance?

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) theory suggests that good customer service results in satisfied customers, who in turn are more likely to remain loyal and recommend the service provider to others. Proponents of good customer service for tenants claim that landlords should see a return on any investment in their customer service, in the form of enhanced real estate performance. This paper begins by reviewing research on customer service returns in other industries. Through consideration of the characteristics of real estate markets, the paper explains how factors such as (inter alia) lease terms, property market cycles, and property type, might determine the relationship between customer service and real estate performance. The paper concludes that further research is needed to isolate specific aspects of customer service that are most appreciated by customers. It suggests that the financial returns which accrue to landlords adopting a customer-focused approach might indeed be quantified, and suggests an appropriate method for such future research

Academic Writing Within An Online Learning Environment: Assessing The Impact Of Peer Evaluation On Lesson Planning, Execution & Assessment

Peer evaluation, as a learning strategy, is commonly used among educators in an attempt to promote higher performance goals and improved teaching and learning outcomes through the sharing of complementary proficiencies for a familiar intent. It is commonly viewed as a technique for raising the bar' through exposing educators to alternative perspectives. Within the online learning environment, there is a high degree of isolation among educators involved in the delivery of the same course. Although individuals interact in established teacher forums about administrative issues, a forum is not provided where interaction about teaching content, delivery and conceptualization of critical concepts can be explored and discussed. As such, the provision of a forum for collaboration among peers involved in different aspects of course delivery within the online learning environment is believed to address the issue of isolated instruction while also providing support and evaluation as to the effectiveness of teaching strategies employed. The aim of the research is to investigate the impact of an established peer partnership between 14 colleagues working in pairs geared towards assessing feedback and discussions on lesson planning, execution and assessment processes. It seeks to ascertain its usefulness as a strategy to be incorporated into the teaching of English for Academic Purposes within an online learning environment. The study seeks to provide actionable direction for peer evaluation and collaboration, as a teaching and learning tool, through the mapping, assessing and evaluation of the processes involved

Determinants of satisfaction amongst tenants of UK Offices

Purpose – Corporate Occupiers require offices and services which meet their business needs, whilst landlords must attract and retain occupiers in order to maximise occupancy and rental income. The purpose of this research is to help landlords and corporate occupiers understand each other better, in order to achieve a mutually beneficial relationship. Design/methodology/approach - This paper analyses interviews with 1334 office tenants in the UK, conducted over an 11-year period, to investigate determinants of occupier satisfaction, loyalty and advocacy. Structural equation modelling and regressions are performed using respondents’ ratings of satisfaction with many aspects of occupancy as explanatory variables. The dependent variables include satisfaction with property management, value for money, overall occupier satisfaction, lease renewal intentions and occupiers’ willingness to recommend their landlord. Findings - The aspects with most impact on occupiers’ satisfaction are the office building itself, its location and amenities, and also communication with their property manager, a belief that their business needs are understood and the property manager’s responsiveness to occupiers’ requests. Occupiers’ loyalty depends mainly upon feeling that their rent and service charges provide value for money, an amicable leasing process, the professionalism of their property manager and the Corporate Social Responsibility of the Landlord. ‘Empathy’ is crucial to occupiers’ willingness to recommend their landlord, and clear documentation and efficient legal process improve occupiers’ perception of receiving ‘Value for Money’. Research Limitations - The sample is skewed towards occupiers of prime office buildings in the UK, owned by landlords who care sufficiently about their tenants to commission studies into occupier satisfaction. Practical implications - This research should help to improve the landlord – tenant relationship, benefitting the businesses that rent property and helping building managers understand where to focus their efforts to achieve maximum effect on occupier satisfaction, loyalty and advocacy. Originality/value - There has been little academic research into the determinants of satisfaction of occupiers of UK commercial property. This large-scale study enables the most influential factors to be identified and prioritised

Treating the Tenant as a Customer: can good service improve real estate performance?

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) theory suggests that good customer service results in satisfied customers, who in turn are more likely to remain loyal and recommend the service provider to others. Applied to real estate, this theory implies that landlords should see a return on any investment in the service they give to tenants, in the form of increased lease renewal rates and fewer void periods, achieved without compromising rents. This paper examines determinants of occupier satisfaction, and investigates the relationship between occupier satisfaction and property performance, using measures such as capital growth, income return, lease renewal rates and total return. The analysis is based upon a pilot study using occupier satisfaction responses from around 2500 interviewees based in multi-tenanted offices, shopping centres and retail warehouses on out-of-town retail parks in the UK. The analysis is being extended to cover a larger sample for the author’s PhD. Part 1 of the analysis examines occupier satisfaction, whilst Part 2 considers its impact on property performance

Peer-to-Peer energy trading, independence aspirations and financial benefits among Nigerian households

This paper demonstrates how preferences for energy trading are influenced by autarky aspirations and possible financial benefits from energy trading in the form of lower energy expenses and additional income. It presents findings from a survey on preferences for energy trading on a community-based platform within a residential estate setting. The survey included a choice experiment of hypothetical home choices with the possibility of energy trading on a peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading platform. It also distinguished between preferences for buying and selling. Participants were 649 residents of housing estates in Ibadan, a Nigerian city. According to our logistic regression analysis, willingness to participate in energy trading was influenced by autarky aspirations and financial benefits. The financial benefits that interest respondents include gaining additional income from P2P energy trading and reducing overall power expenses. The autarky benefit that drives interest in P2P is “reduced reliance” on the grid for electricity. Real estate developers could therefore capitalise on consumers' high levels of interest in the benefits of homes with P2P energy trading capabilities. Nigerian energy policymakers should put in place structures that support P2P because P2P energy trading can unlock the additional value of solar PV for residential consumers

The tenant as customer: does good service enhance the financial performance of commercial real estate?

The motivation for this research was to investigate whether both parties benefit if landlords treat tenants as valued customers. Are satisfied occupiers more likely to renew their lease and recommend the landlord to others? Does this, in turn, improve the financial performance of commercial properties? This research analyses data from 4500 interviews with occupiers of UK commercial property to determine which factors affect occupiers’ satisfaction with the property management service they receive. Various statistical techniques are employed, including Structural Equation Modelling, Ordinary Least Squares Regression and Logistic Regression. Results are presented for four sectors of commercial property – retailers in Shopping Centres, managers of retail warehouses on Retail Parks, occupiers of Office buildings, and occupiers of light industrial units on Industrial Estates. Although the precise determinants of occupiers’ overall satisfaction are found to differ between the sectors, the most important factor for all occupiers is satisfaction with property management. The key determinant of lease renewal intentions is the perception of receiving value-for-money for rent, whilst ‘Empathy’ and ‘Assurance’ are particularly relevant to occupiers’ willingness to recommend their landlord. Perception of receiving value for money is largely influenced by the reliability of the property management service. Following this part of the research, occupier satisfaction ratings and property returns are analysed for 273 properties over an 11-year period, to explore the relationship for the different sectors of commercial property. Positive correlations are found between the satisfaction of occupiers at a property and the risk-adjusted financial returns at that property, measured by reference to IPD benchmarks. The relationship is found to be particularly strong for the retail sector. It also appears stronger during the Global Financial Crisis, indicating that attention to satisfying the needs of occupiers might reduce void periods and maintain rental income when property supply exceeds demand

Cross-species Malaria Immunity Induced By Chemically Attenuated Parasites

Vaccine development for the blood stages of malaria has focused on the induction of antibodies to parasite surface antigens, most of which are highly polymorphic. An alternate strategy has evolved from observations that low-density infections can induce antibody-independent immunity to different strains. To test this strategy, we treated parasitized red blood cells from the rodent parasite Plasmodium chabaudi with secocyclopropyl pyrrolo indole analogs. These drugs irreversibly alkylate parasite DNA, blocking their ability to replicate. After administration in mice, DNA from the vaccine could be detected in the blood for over 110 days and a single vaccination induced profound immunity to different malaria parasite species. Immunity was mediated by CD4(+) T cells and was dependent on the red blood cell membrane remaining intact. The human parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, could also be attenuated by treatment with seco-cyclopropyl pyrrolo indole analogs. These data demonstrate that vaccination with chemically attenuated parasites induces protective immunity and provide a compelling rationale for testing a blood-stage parasite-based vaccine targeting human Plasmodium species

Le FORUM, Vol. 37 No. 3

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/francoamericain_forum/1038/thumbnail.jp