Monthly Archives: December 2009

Dec 21 2009

Asset Management & Christmas Day!

When people ask me what I do, it is sometimes difficult to pigeon hole my work – but at the centre of my working life is an asset management team – which has been built up over the last ten years of so.

The Point West Bridgford - managed by us


We have recently been doing a review of the business and the work we do.

We now manage over £250m worth of property for 145 clients. We are collecting nearly £20m in rents and another £4m in service charges. We look after nearly 2,000 tenants.

Although we have a great computer system at the heart of this work is a really good team of property managers. The work is challenging – especially in the current climate. In recent years the focus has changed – we now have many more Statutory Requirements to worry about. Health and Safety is a big part of what we do. It’s not necessarily what we enjoy!

When I started out in this game (27 years ago!) we really were ‘rent collectors’. But that is only part of the job now. It is all about protecting and enhancing value. That is not always easy – but it runs to the heart of everything we do. The calculation of value is a complex matrix of different elements – but the way in which property is managed can have an impact.

Latterly the ‘green agenda’ has come to the fore. We are working closely with Outerarc in Nottingham to see if we can change peoples behaviour in our buildings by reducing their carbon footprint. This will certainly be more important in the future as fuel resources become scarce.

And as everyone gets ready for Christmas – spare a thought for the property managers – the next quarters rents are all due on December 25th!

Dec 20 2009

Dyslexia – and the Mail on Sunday

In his column in the MOS on 20 December Peter Hitchens really does write some garbage. He says “Hurrah for the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee. Their verdict that ‘dyslexia’ can’t be distinguished from other reading difficulties gives the game away. It can’t be distinguished because it has no objective, scientific definition. And that is because it doesn’t exist.”

That’s quite a big statement, “dyslexia doesn’t exist”. Actually if he had bothered to read the report – or that of the independent report from Sir Jim Rose to the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families June 2009 titled Teaching Children and Young People with Dyslexia and Literacy Difficulties – he might be able to avoid his cheap (inaccurate) headline. Jim Rose in chapter one of his report defines Dyslexia – “Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling.”

My son Jack was diagnosed with dyslexia and we see at first hand the impact of this. We can often see him have dyslexic days – when shoes can be on the wrong way and things just don’t go right! He was diagnosed by a qualified Educational Psychologist. Jack spent some time at the Nottingham Dyslexia Institute – who were excellent and helped him enormously. Despite his dyslexia he plays drums in a band and squash (nearly beating his dad). The dyslexia ‘label’ hasn’t harmed him – and his 8 GCSE’s were great too!

The committee actually said “the Government should be more independently minded in the formulation of dyslexia policy: priorities appear to be based on pressures from lobby groups rather than on research”. This seems a long way from not existing? Understandably the British Dyslexia Association are lso a little disappointed in the committee.

So I wonder what qualifications Peter Hitchens has to make such ridiculous statements.

Dec 20 2009

Nottingham – on the up!

Fantastic news this week as Dorling Kindersely released their list of places to visit across the globe in 2010. Nottingham is listed in third place – behind Istanbul & Reykjavik.

Nottingham Castle


They said, “In May 2010 Hollywood’s eyes will focus on this corner of the East Midlands, as Ridley Scott’s new Robin Hood film is released to the world. Meanwhile, Nottingham Contemporary, a new building designed by award-winning architects Caruso St John, opens with a series of exhibitions and art projects running across four galleries. Add to this its designer shopping credentials and there are plenty of reasons to visit Nottingham in 2010.“

So votes for Robin Hood and The Nottingham Contemporary! Our shopping gets a mention too. Nottingham does have a world class reputation – which we need to build on. We beat Boston MA – and I am not surprised! See one of my earliest blogs here.

Then there was the news that Nottingham had been named as one of the regional centres for The World Cup 2018 bid to FIFA. If England ‘win’ the right to host the tournament things should come together nicely for 2018! The work we have been doing on a Robin Hood attraction has timelines that run through to 2018.

If all comes good, who knows we might well be the number one place to visit in the world – now that would be quite cool! We certainly have a target to aim for – and eight years will pass quite quickly…

Dec 19 2009

Christmas meals should be moved to January

I have to confess to being maxed out on Christmas meals. With only a couple of exceptions I do wonder why we tolerate the meals trotted out at Christmas.

My daughter and I at the Michelin starred 'Spotted Pig' in New York - now thats what I call chips!


Last week I had the treat of a ‘meal’ at the Bowling Alley – which was principally deep fried. Deep fried everything – pizza, breaded brie, sausages, chips, mince pies – you get the picture. But in fairness they don’t hold themselves out to be a michelin starred restaurant.

Whereas on Friday I ate at Haus in Derby. I had a diet starter – two slivers of melon and an ounce of parma ham. The main course was mostly warm. Not that there was much of it – weight watchers would have been proud. Desert was traditional Christmas pud. My favourite – but not the barbecued variety. Quite how you can burn pudding is beyond me – it must have taken a lot of effort. They did replace it, but I had lost the will by that stage – and opted for cheese – with a hint of bread. (restaurants please note: please provide extra biscuits / bread for cheeseboards – eating chunks of cheese lacks decorum). I was lucky though – some puddings followed 10 minutes late – and steaks were ‘close’ in terms of cooking – ‘medium well’ was ‘medium rare’…

I have eaten at Haus before and it has been good!

Twice last week I ate at Vienna in Nottingham – the first night was a buffet – three pieces of bread and pate. The next night we had a Christmas meal. The meal was passable – but the place could have been used to train astronauts – it had so little atmosphere.

So why do we put up with it? Meals are over-priced and over-rated at Christmas. Most of these places can’t cope with big numbers of people. To add to the misery the staff seem to be temporary over Christmas? I can’t remember having to pass the plates down the table! And having take-away pizza after the meal defeats the objective…

In July we went to Paris. It’s expensive, but we didn’t have a bad meal. The waiters are exceptional. It is considered a profession there. The ability to remember orders without making notes was quite impressive!

And so, assuming we don’t all go to France to eat – I suggest we defer Christmas to at least January when we might get a reasonable meal at a reasonable price.

And the best meal I have had? Well a toss up between a private dinner where a team from The Olive Branch did the catering and Roast in Borough Market in London. Both first rate!

Dec 18 2009

Guessing about 2010

As 2009 draws to a close everyone has started to try and second guess what will happen in 2010. And the reality is that we all want to sound very knowledgeable, but we are just guessing.

The original Starbucks in Seattle - business holding up for coffee shops?


The impact of a General Election is simply unknown. If the Tories win (as anticipated but not a ‘given’ in my view) the first few days of Government are going to be interesting. Can you imagine when they go to the piggy bank in the corner of the Treasury to discover it is not only empty, but is in millions of tiny pieces.

Retail property is a good barometer of the economy – it used to be manufacturing, but that has long since gone. The state of the retail industry is not good – 2009 was bad for many – as I have blogged about before. Woolworths was the big bad news story. Oddly coffee shops have done ok. But nationally it is estimated that 12.7% of our shops are vacant – up from around 5% in 2007.
So what of 2010? I can’t see vacancy rate getting better – will it reach 15%? Maybe.

Will the retailers have a good Christmas – I think they might. Last year there was an element of uncertainty, but we know we are in a mess and there seems to be an attitude of ‘getting on with it’. But by April when the new Rating Valuation kicks in there might be some more casualties.

I suspect the bottom end retailers such as Primark, Aldi, Lidl & Netto will also do well. The rich are still rich and so perhaps the high end will be fine too – but the middle market might suffer. We might start to see the emergence of local retailers again.
The effect on the property sector will be a move to shorter leases and rents could be driven down in secondary or tertiary positions. Prime rents might remain flat.

All told, 2010 will remain challenging – and we need to be fleet of foot, flexible and bright thinking! And if there is to be a car crash in Government, adopt the brace position – and pray the airbags work!

Dec 16 2009

Pop up shopping…

A new craze is starting – and there are some big names supporting the initiative.

John Lyle is Elton John

Elton John sunglasses - will they catch on? Probably not!


Pop up shops are springing up. With news this week that Elton John and David Furness are selling off their collective wardrobes from a pop-up shop in Covent Garden. The money raised from the shop will be going to Elton’s Aids Foundation.

Of course this is not new to Nottingham – we have been having our own pop-up shop for the last few months. Wayne Hemingway of Red or Dead fame was instrumental in bringing the concept to Nottingham. I think it’s a great idea.

But I cannot help but wonder if it could be extended further. According to research undertaken there have been 25,090 shops closed in the UK between January and September of this year – a staggering 10% of the total shops on our high streets. There have been some proposals to stop these ‘tooth gaps’ appearing. And with no immediate sign of the end of the recession in sight perhaps this is something we need to revisit? Empty property does nothing for anyone. In the current Rating regime landlords are paying significant sums out whilst their property remains non-income producing. Streets look run-down very quickly. Buildings start to deteriorate as maintenance gets put to the back of the queue. Heating systems off means a damp and dank shop appears fairly quickly. It’s not easy to recover from this!

And so perhaps we do need to think about getting people to set up shop in some of our vacant premises – just for a short time.

The kiosk idea is great – it showcases local talent – and gives people a chance. And it doesn’t only work in a kiosk format – why not have a more ‘permanent’ home?

I have had the pleasure of hearing Wayne speak several times and his business story is that he started effectively on a market stall – we need to remember these roots. Not everyone will survive or make the next ‘Red or Dead’ – but our retailing will not look quite so run down, buildings will be ‘cuddled’ and shopping can be fun – with the kiosk shops offering unique products.

And perhaps some of the space can be used for amateur Art sales, or perhaps for musicians starting out? Or for ‘meeting spaces’ with coffee and cakes at low prices.

Now, I wonder if I should buy some of those Elton glasses – or would that make me look like silly? John Lyle doesn’t look silly though…he looks cool?

Dec 15 2009

MIPIM 2010 – not that far away

At the top of my blog is a link to a page about MIPIM.

Matt (L), Gary(R) and myself at the Nottingham Dinner 2009


As the year end approaches we start to plan for MIPIM2010. This will be my seventh visit to the International property show – held in Cannes on the Cote D’Azur.

The show has changed over the time I have been going – in the early days it was seen as something of a ‘reward’ and attracted large numbers of Surveyors who spent hours (days & nights) in Cafe Roma… But this year there was a change as many of the large firms cut back their exposure as the property market crashed. So the delegates were there for business – less in number and more focused. We, as a firm, have cut back our expenditure from the heady days of 2006/7!

My Partner Matt Hannah has always said he would rather do business in Blackpool, but I disagree. If we were in Blackpool people would pop back to the office or just do a day trip. The effort of getting to Cannes stops this. And the Cannes climate does add something critical (we have had always had good weather). Blackpool doesn’t have this sort of attraction (admittedly it was 1977 when I was last there!)

But I also think that there is also something of a microcosm in Cannes for the four days or so of the festival. People are focused and (iphone / blackberry permitting) in networking mode.

The ability to network in the surroundings of the Cote D’Azur is priceless. There are organised events – people vying for your attendance at Breakfasts, Lunches, Teas and Dinners means a fairly full diary! But there are also ad-hoc meetings – people will strike up a conversation with you. The ability to use a yacht for meetings with clients also does hold something of an attraction! Over the last few years the crew on board have been superb.

My firm are sponsors of Invest in Nottingham. We also support Derby Cityscape and Prospect Leicestershire. I will be there supporting Nottingham Regeneration Limited too. We are keen to use MIPIM as our shop window on the World – and encourage investment. The spin off is, potentially, work for my firm.

So, if you are attending let me know – we will be there from Tuesday 16th to Friday 19th March. I will be blogging from the show…

Dec 14 2009

Nottingham – Planning for the future

Last week I was invited to attend a breakfast presentation to see what the City Council had learned from the review undertaken of its Planning Service by Addison Associates.

EMP Seattle - would you get Planning Permission for this on Maid Marian Way? Thought not!


I was consulted earlier in the year – partly as a result of my involvement in the Castle College planning application for the rebuilding of the maid Marian Way campus. I won’t dwell on that process, but it was the 9th scheme that went before the Committee – with an Officer Recommendation, only to be adjourned. We did get the consent, but in reality had missed the window of opportunity. Subsequently the LSC funding debacle cost more than the scheme – it had a human cost too.

Jennifer Dearing is the interim Director of Planning – for a six month period. Her primary role as she explained was to push through the changes and improvements highlighted in the review. In fairness Jennifer started the presentation by listing some of the good things about the Planning Team – it wasn’t all bad! Nottingham lead the way on Transportation and produce some excellent written reports. But she did acknowledge that there was a lot to be done – partly as a result of a theme which came from the consultation:

Nottingham is less easy to do development in than other UK cities

Sadly I think this is true. It is difficult to highlight exactly why – but we do seem to get hung up on all manner of minutiae. To some extent Nottingham Castle causes as many issues for development as it benefits the City in tourism (if it does?). We shy away from tall buildings, but I am not sure why. We have critical views lines – from bizarre points (Musters Road West Bridgford?). We have to respect heritage – but I am not convinced we have a consistent approach – viz. The Nottingham Contemporary.

The positive news is that Jennifer is setting about trying to change all of this – and this must be welcomed. Jennifer has said, “Are we going to be a city famed for its modern, high quality architecture or a city well known for keeping the scale of development in keeping and in character with a much more human scale.”

Although not drawn on the answer this question is critical. I know what i think!

But we might also see the introduction of Planning Performance Agreements for large scale developments – which should be welcomed. These can give the Applicants an amount of certainty in the process.

I look forward to the new look Planning Service – Nottingham needs it to compete on the world stage. And we need to tell everyone too that there is a new broom sweeping clean – so that the people with bad past experiences might come back and give Nottingham a second chance!

Nottingham is a brilliant place – but could be better. The Planners have a critical part to play in our future… But so do the members of the Planning Committee!

My suggestion about making Nottingham the Friendliest Place in the World runs deep into the corridors of the Planning Department!

Dec 13 2009

Happy Christmas…

Its time I sent my Christmas cards out – so here goes…

And I thought the exchange below summed it up nicely!

Company Memo

FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director

TO: All Employees
DATE: October 1, 2009
RE: Gala Christmas Party

I’m happy to inform you that the company Christmas Party will take place on December 23rd, starting at noon in the private function room at the Grill House. There will be a cash bar and plenty of drinks! We’ll have a small band playing traditional carols… feel free to sing along. And don’t be surprised if our CEO shows up dressed as Santa Claus! Exchanges of gifts among employees can be done at that time; however, no gift should be over £10.00 to make the giving of gifts easy for everyone’s pockets. This gathering is only for employees!
Merry Christmas to you and your family, Patty
_____________________________

Company Memo
FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director
TO: All Employees
DATE: October 3, 2009
RE: Holiday Party
Regarding the note I received from a member of Alcoholics Anonymous requesting a non-drinking table, you didn’t sign your name. I’m happy to accommodate this request, but if I put a sign on a table that reads, “AA Only”, you wouldn’t be anonymous anymore. How am I supposed to handle this?
Somebody?
And sorry, but forget about the gift exchange, no gifts are allowed since the union members feel that £10.00 is too much money and the executives believe £10.00 is a little light.
REMEMBER: NO GIFTS EXCHANGE WILL BE ALLOWED.
________________________
Company Memo
FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director
To: All Employees
DATE: October 4, 2009
RE: Generic Holiday Party
What a diverse group we are! I had no idea that December 20th begins the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which forbids eating and drinking during daylight hours. There goes the party! Seriously, we can appreciate how a luncheon at this time of year does not accommodate our Muslim employees’ beliefs. Perhaps the Grill House can hold off on serving your meal until the end of the party or else package everything for you to take it home in little foil doggy baggy. Will that work?
Meanwhile, I’ve arranged for members of Weight Watchers to sit farthest from the dessert buffet, and pregnant women will get the table closest to the restrooms.
Gays are allowed to sit with each other. Lesbians do not have to sit with Gay men, each group will have their own table. Yes, there will be flower arrangement for the Gay men’s table.
To the person asking permission to cross dress, the Grill House asks that no cross-dressing be allowed, apparently because of concerns about confusion in the WC’s. Sorry.
We will have booster seats for short people.
Low-fat food will be available for those on a diet.
I am sorry to report that we cannot control the amount of salt used in the food. The Grill House suggests that people with high blood pressure taste a bite first.
There will be fresh “low sugar” fruits as dessert for diabetics, but the restaurant cannot supply “no sugar” desserts. Sorry!
Did I miss anything?!?!?
Patty
_____________________________

Company Memo
FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director
TO: All F*%^ing Employees
DATE: October 5, 2009
RE: The F*%^ing Holiday Party
I’ve had it with you vegetarian pricks!!! We’re going to keep this party at the Grill House whether you like it or not, so you can sit quietly at the table furthest from the “grill of death,” as you so quaintly put it, and you’ll get your f*%^ing salad bar, including organic tomatoes. But you know, tomatoes have feelings, too. They scream when you slice them. I’ve heard them scream. I’m hearing them scream right NOW!
The rest of you f*%^ing wierdos can kiss my *ss. I hope you all have a rotten holiday!

The B*tch from H*ll!!!
_________________________________

Company Memo
FROM: Joan Bishop, Acting Human Resources Director
DATE: October 6, 2009
RE: Patty Lewis and Holiday Party
I’m sure I speak for all of us in wishing Patty Lewis a speedy recovery and I’ll continue to forward your cards to her.
In the meantime, management has decided to cancel our Holiday Party and give everyone the afternoon of the 23rd off with full pay.
Happy Holidays!
Joan

Dec 11 2009

Rage against the Cowell

What a refreshing idea – Rage Against The Machine being the Christmas No.1. I happen to think that “killing in the name’ is their best track. It’s not exactly pop music, but it appeals to my punky dim and distant days. It’s not in my Top Ten, but it is probably close – out of my 13,500 itunes library, it is ranked in the top 25… by times played

Ronnie - unlikely ever to win X-Factor?


But it may have a chance to make No.1 – not because of its festive cheerfulness (of which there is none) but because of a Facebook Campaign! Supposedly 500,000 are signed up to poke Simon Cowells X-Factor in the eye. The cynical commerciality of X-Factor is being railed against – or is it?

I have nothing against the people left in X-Factor – but they are almost guaranteed a No.1 at Christmas because of the show . Not because of the song (which will probably be a cover) or because of their voice is good (I am told they can all sing) or because of the festive-feel (unlikely to be covering Roy Wood?).

The music industry is a money-making machine – and on the face of it I have no issue with this. It is business.

Cowell coming out and saying the campaign is ‘silly‘ is funny at face value. Did 500,000 people rattle his cage? Has his ego been dented? He suggests that the campaign will spoil it for the three contestants. A given then that one of them is somehow entitled to the Number 1 spot? What about all of the other artistes?

Having thought about this I am not sure. The cynic in me suggests that this is all part of the game. All publicity is great publicity. By stoking the fire here a major group of the population will buy ‘Rage’ to keep ‘X-Factor Winner person’ off the top spot. Who wins? Well, both of them do and so do the Record Company – in both cases Sony BMG!

Am I going to buy Rage? I am undecided – part of me says yes to rebel against the inevitable, but the other part says no. But it is not a ‘no’ because I already own it on CD and thus have it a high bit rate (see my earlier blog!) – it is probably because if you buy it on itunes it is not 79p (as most other tracks are) but is 99p. Now if thats not Apple / itunes profiteering I don’t know what is!

I might buy it, but I might just put my 99p in a Charity Box…

Update 12 December: I was told that the reason the track is 99p is that it is DRM free – which is great – except the the restricted copy is not available! But if you want a cheap copy – try Amazon here. Unfortunatley it won’t add to the singles count – there are rules about pricing, and it has to cost 60p to count!

Update 20 December

So RATM beat X-Factor. Amazing power of facebook! And no I didn’t buy a copy – having already owned one. Yes I know – bah humbug!