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PROPERTY AND FACILITIES MANAGEMENT: KEMSLEY LLP
tion in relation to its offices in Chelmsford, Romford,
Basildon and London: “For Agency work, each
office has an Agency capacity and between them
they cover London, Essex and, where appropriate,
Suffolk and beyond. Landlord and tenant work
goes further afield across London, East Anglia and
the geographic capacity is much wider for management, where we cover nationally and resource as
appropriate. If we can’t do anything in-house, we
partner with others including professional colleagues overseas.”
The bulk of Property and Asset Management
work is in Essex and East London although one portfolio has properties from County Durham down to
Sussex and across into Wales. The dominant sector
is industrial with some retail and a small element of
residential, covering about 200 properties producing
an annual rent roll of £21 million for clients that
include individuals, property companies and trusts.
The range of services can extend to full FM for
single let properties or multi-lets with shared facilities. That’s provided through several pre-approved
and often long-serving contractors with an emphasis on local firms that know the area and property.
In all cases, however, the service is tailored to the
needs of individual clients which, in Tom’s experience, can vary widely. “We work with clients according to their needs,” he remarks. “We have a real
variety and different attitudes for landlords. Some
want to be part of every decision while others just
want to know the money is coming in and if there
is a problem.”
Each client’s attitude determines the extent of
information provided and the frequency of meetings, with some requiring detailed reporting and
others happy to be told only when something
needs attention. To some degree, that attitude and
the required treatment are dependent on individual
properties, some being relatively modern and smart
buildings that must be kept to a high standard and
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others where there are plans to redevelop the site.
For the latter, it’s necessary to maintain the required
level of compliance but no more for properties due
are to be vacated.
CLIENT NEEDS
It’s a matter of having knowledge of each client’s
needs and that can come from a close and longterm working relationship that starts when a property is taken on and gradually develops. Tom
explains: “We initially give broad recommendations
of what we can offer and want to do but a lot of it
can only really come out once you get a feel for the
client. These things often come with time and some
of them change as they go on. We gradually get to
know the personality of those involved, where the
control is and the different view of the property
each individual has.”
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