Arden House
Instruction:Â Arden House, Leighton Buzzard
Client: JLL
Size: 11,300 sq ft
We were instructed by Jones Lang LaSalle’s Real Estate Workout team to manage this insolvent property consisting of 11,300 sq ft of offices in Leighton Buzzard, on behalf of their client, the lender. The building is a purpose-built office block comprising five open-plan floors let to several occupiers on varying lease terms and paying both rent and service charges.
As one of our first steps, we liaised with the occupiers concerning rent reviews and lease renewals – given the existing variety of leases in place. By doing this, and helping to establish an accurate tenancy schedule for the client, we were able to help make a clearer case for the property’s investment potential.
Managing the client’s liability of this insolvent property, we conducted a review of the existing Health & Safety assessments and Asbestos Management Plan, and arranged new assessments. Furthermore, we ensured the building was fully compliant with fire regulations and put in place contracts for statutory testing and maintenance of all fire safety equipment.
We carried out a comprehensive handover and review of the service charges from the managing agents that had been acting on behalf of the borrower.
As part of our rent and service charge collection service, we needed to bring clarity to an issue of conflicting information relating to the splitting of service charge between occupiers. We conducted a measured survey to establish the accurate and appropriate apportionments for the service charge payments going forward.
On a practical level, we were responsible for resolving a challenging issue relating to regular power outages and overloading. As a continuity solution, we arranged the hire of generators for the property, to avoid downtime for the occupiers, whilst the utility supplier made the necessary repairs.
Having demonstrated our comprehensive property management and problem-solving, and developed an understanding of the property and its occupiers, we were then retained on the property as managing agents on behalf of the new purchaser.
