Tag Archives: Agent of the Year 2009

Mar 31 2010

My firm are nominated for a prestigious award!

My firm, Innes England, has once again been shortlisted for the Estates Gazette Regional Awards for East Midlands Property Adviser of the Year 2010.

The awards are given each year to find the best Property Adviser and Property Company in eight regions across the UK. If successful, we will go through to the National Property Adviser award category against all other regional winners.

My Managing Director Robert Hartley said: “Acknowledgement from both our clients and partners has led to Innes England making the shortlist every year since the competition was started in 2004, which is an accolade in its own right.”

He added: “We pride ourselves in delivering excellent client service and it is testament to the hard work of the team that we are once again nominated. We are up against regional and national agents but I think our unique position of being located in Nottingham, Leicester and Derby provides us with unrivalled local market knowledge to benefit our clients and give us the edge. We were delighted to take the award home in 2008 and 2009, after fending off competition from agents throughout the Midlands, so the 2010 title would be a celebrated hat-trick.”

The announcement follows the recent win where we picked up Most Active Agent in the Estates Gazette Interactive 2009 Deals competition. We also walked away with the overall title as well as the number one position in both the Office and Industrial/Distribution categories. To win the award and to go on to be nominated for Property Adviser of the Year, we completed hundreds of deals during 2009 in all categories and size bands. Highlights included securing the region’s largest office pre-letting to Speedo at NG2 in Nottingham for their new global headquarters, the largest office letting of 93,000 sq ft to Derby College on Pride Park and the sale of Leicester Southgates bus station enabling Arriva’s relocation.

We are really proud of this award, but need as much help as we can get in 2010! We would dearly love to win the hat-trick!

Voting is now open here, and will be open until Friday 23 April.

Feb 10 2010

East Midlands market knowledge

This morning my firm launched our third annual ‘insight’ into the state of the market – up to the end of 2009.

Over the next three days we will get around 500 people in Nottingham, Derby and Leicester to see the results of our research – which is not based on some theory, but rather real data. It is interpreted by people who work in the market day in day out.

So, what of the market-place?

According to Experian, “Despite prospects for UK annual average growth being well below its long-term average, Derby, Leicester and Nottingham may prove to have more resilience, thanks to their diverse services sector.”

Sadia Sheikh went on to say that tourism is important for Nottingham. We do need to capitalise on Robin Hood!

And, in the introduction by Managing Director, Robert Hartley, he said, “The view is that the next 12 months will remain difficult, with only weak economic growth and the inevitable election giving people ‘food for thought’. The prediction is for owner occupier markets to be challenging. However, there are the first signs of developers and house builders renewing interest in sensibly priced opportunities in a market that saw little activity in 2009.”

I blogged this week about Nottingham City Councils move to Loxley House and our research showed that this 213,000 sq ft acquisition skewed the figures in 2009 – accounting for nearly 50% of the office floorspace taken up!

As for rents in Nottingham:

Offices – prime rents have remained consistently at just shy of £20 psf
Industrial – prime have slipped back below £6 psf and are now at 2006 levels
Retail – High Street – prime have slipped back to around £225 Zone A – from a high of over £250
Retail – out of town – fairly flat for ope A1 use at around £30 psf

For more details of the figures – and of those for Derby & Leicester you can email me at the office – tgarratt@innes-england.com . I will happily send you a copy of the research.

The final speaker was Mark Chandler from Lloyds. He had some interesting figures – they lent more in Q4 2009 than they have ever lent! There was also an interesting nugget that the LTV (loan to value) is no longer the primary test for a commercial property loan. Lloyds are looking at affordability first – the ability to service the debt has become the primary consideration.

So my overall take – there has been a shift downwards, but we have fared much better as a City than some other places. We are well placed to take advantage of the upturn – which will surely come…

Jan 15 2010

Rules – to be broken?

One of my colleagues (who doesn’t do social networking I hope!) seems to have swallowed a rule-book at New Year. This week we have had four emails with rules in. New ones.

Rule #231 - drinking water it's not


1. Cars not to be parked in certain spaces in the car park;
2. Must have your DDI number on your email sign off;
3. Clothes in office cloakroom to be removed;
4. Second class stamps only on letters unless they need to go first class.

I am thinking we need a proper book to organise these rules. I have set up a new folder on my email system to file them.

I think that my least favourite shop of the moment, John Lewis, has some quaint rules (allegedly) – like you can only grow a beard “in your own time”. I’m not sure how you could actually do this – as far as I am aware it grows all of the time and your body clock doesn’t stop it when you are in the Victoria Centre?

And then apparently, there are some schools which have ‘important rules’, meaning it is illegal to:

make daisy chains (risk of picking up germs);
play conkers (for fear of eye injury);
play hopscotch (risk of injury);
make anything out of egg boxes (fear of salmonella);
put hands up (makes pupils who don’t have the answers feel victimised);
and throw paper aeroplanes (might also cause eye injuries).

Why do we have to have our lives run by all of these ‘rules’. I am ok with the Biblical stuff – like don’t chop your neighbours head off with a bread knife. And driving on the Nottingham ring road at 155mph (the maximum speed of my car).

But can we cut out the Big Brother please? Can we be treated as adults (apart from at school obviously) please. And can kids be left to grow up – and maybe learn the hard way. Falling out of trees and off home-made go-karts used to come keen, but generally we all survived. Playing conkers with safety goggles is a joke. Accidents do happen, but they are just that – accidents. And the germs on daisy chains let us have them in small doses- anyway some germs are good – like that Bifidius ActiRegularis you find in your Danone.

In the meantime, I shall try to remember to put my car in the first floor cloakroom and write my DDI number on the back of a stamp – I think that’s what the emails said?

Update 17 January 2010

Great news in the MOS today about Scottish & Southern Electric – who have a mantra of five ‘golden’ rules (much better than my ordinary ones by a long shot). Rule #1 – always reverse your car into a static parking bay. Presumably ‘static’ is not the ones on an aircraft carrier that bobs around in the ocean? Rule #4 – always hold onto the handrails on stairs. If you don’t you get ‘yellow carded’. People will soon be confined to home – much safer there? Madness gone mad.

Jan 12 2010

Property – good value?

The latest figures for property investment have just been published. We subscribe to PropertyData which provides detailed analysis of Investment transactions month on month. The December 2009 figures have just been released – which also give us a chance to review the annual performance of the market.

The value of transactions over 5 years - from Property Data


The striking feature was that the value of transactions in 2009 was lower than 2008 – which we thought was the bottom of the market!

The general view is that the market improved at the end of the year – so perhaps 2010 will be better?

Property values are also published – and in the investment market we measure value by ‘yields’. This is simply the return of rent in comparison to capital value. It is no more complex than looking at returns at the Bank or Building Society. We like to make valuation something of a ‘black art’ though – by doing various adjustments for costs, tax etc. But the fundamentals remain – it is a return on value.

It is helpful to compare what you might get for your cash at the Banks. According to the ubiquitous Martyn Lewis the best you can get on instant cash is around 3.35% (worst is 0.1%!). If you lock your money up for 3 years then you could get 4.7%.

PropertyData calculate some average yields (and acknowledge the dangers of averages). But they show some interesting figures for the last three months, by property type:

West End offices London – 6.66%
Regional Offices – 7.75%
Unit shops – 6.7%
Retail Warehouses – 7.14%
Industrial Units – 7.65%

It is interesting to note is the bunching of yields – the average spread across the sectors is only approximately 1%.

Also, returns are higher than cash – there are some obvious reasons. The market is quite illiquid – i.e. the costs of entry and exit are high (Stamp Duty can be 4% on large value transactions). There are risks associated with the income – it is not note necessarily ‘gilt edged’. Buying with borrowed money is difficult too – although the Base Rate is low at 0.5% – this rate is not readily available!

But if you can find property to invest in – the current returns look quite attractive! And if you need help give me a shout!

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 8 2009

Nottingham – good news & The Friendliest City in the World – probably.

I have just read the Nottingham Economic Report published by Nottingham City Council and it makes positive reading. The headlines are:

Over £1 billion of Government investment in Nottingham
GVA (Gross Value Added) of £11.6 billion for Greater Nottingham
A higher than average number of jobs are in Knowledge Intensive Industries
Higher than average skills
One of the country’s Top 20 locations for A-level results
A competitively priced business location
Over three quarters of a million people in the Travel-to-Work Area
A retail spend of £1.7 billion
A highly accessible area with excellent communications.
Nottingham has surpassed all its targets for improving public transport in the last two years.

No.1 Nottingham Science Park


I was asked a couple of months ago to speak on Radio Nottingham about ‘green shoots’ – and at the time I thought the call on the market generally was a bit premature (I still do!). But what I did say was that there are some really compelling reasons to come to Nottingham – as evidenced by the list above. But specifically that our costs of locating you business here are considerably lower than major UK competing Cities. Comparable costs (all inclusive) are Birmingham £47.50, Leeds £43.50 & Bristol £39.50. Nottingham is at £30 per square foot.

This price differential does not mean a difference in quality. In fact the report also highlights some fantastic buildings in Nottingham – No.1 Nottingham Science Park has won numerous awards and is managed by my firm. It is as good as any product in these competing cities. We have great buildings here.

But my other point goes beyond the facts and figures. I think Nottingham has nice people – I suggested this on the Radio. We are welcoming and friendly. And perhaps that is something we should promote more of. New York did it after the catastrophe of 9/11 – they suddenly realised that their visitors were not an irritant, but ‘friends’ and so adjusted their attitude. We are a friendly lot in Nottingham (where else would someone say ‘ay-up-me-duck’?)- but we could do even better. My mate John Lyle and I did think that we should start a ‘helpful’ campaign in the town – so when you are asked for help – you go out of your way to help people and talk to them. Our reputation will grow even more. It might not help the statistics in the short term, but how about us being voted The Most Friendly City in the World ?

One of the ideas seen in the USA on our tour was how volunteers helped run places (The Getty Museum in LA has 600!). We should think about this too – people who know and love the city – and can point you in the right direction or just give you information. But whilst that idea runs in the background we can all do our bit by being friendly to others – starting tomorrow!

Nottingham – The Friendliest City in the World. Probably.

Dec 7 2009

Valuation – a tricky art!

It is not an exciting part of what I do – most of us would rather be ‘doing deals’ – buying, letting or selling. But much of what I do revolves around valuation for clients. At the moment it may not be exciting, but it is certainly interesting and challenging! As you might expect providing advice on what something is worth in the current market can be tricky. And there are quite stringent rules about the valuation in the form of something we lovingly called ‘The Red Book‘.

Getty Los Angeles - cost $1bn, but what's it worth?


The methods of valuation are varied, but by far the most used is the comparables basis – which is as simple as it sounds – you get ‘evidence’ of other deals which you compare to the subject property. The art is in making adjustments! So you can value your house easily if you know that the one two doors down sold for ‘x’ – but you have a conservatory and a bigger garden, so your must be worth ‘x+’. Easy.

But what happens when there are few transactions – or worse still none? Or that those transactions are from 18 months ago – before the ‘crash’? Then it gets a bit tricky.

The RICS give some guidance about ‘valuing in uncertain times‘ – which is quite helpful on a technical level. But actually the client still needs a number on which he can rely. After all, that is what they are paying for! And we often have a dilemma – the gap between expectation and reality can be quite significant. Bad news is not easy to sell. We also have one eye on our Insurance policy – which protects us if the value we report is ‘negligent’.

Last week I valued some land which might in the future be suitable for residential development. But there is no Planning Consent in place for it. Nor is there really a market for residential land at the moment – the house-builders are slowly getting back on their feet, but they have no appetite for big deals. The residential market (end users) is patchy. But my client needed a valuation figure on the land to see if there was justification to proceed on another deal…

It would be all too easy to slash the figures, but that too can be wrong – and sometimes could be seen to be negligent (although harder to prove).

So we give an opinion of value – and as one of my old University mates told me ‘we can only do a snapshot’. He is right, the market is moving so quickly. And next year could be as tumultuous again with a General Election looming. But you can only give an opinion as you feel on the day.

Years ago, I heard a great statement (and annoyingly I cannot recall who by) which said ‘you are paid for your opinions not your doubts‘. I think this is a great maxim for our profession, especially at the moment.

Oct 2 2009

Networking – food for the soul

At the East Midlands Property Dinner awards 2009 the firm was lucky enough to win ‘agent of the year 2009’ – presented by sponsors Invest in Nottingham.

Tim Garratt, Lorraine Baggs & Matthew Hannah collect Agent of the Year Award

Tim Garratt & Matthew Hannah collect Agent of the Year Award from Lorraine Baggs

The event was very good (we were in a good mood!) and was presented by compere Giles Brandreth. A good compere holds an audience and Giles did this brilliantly. His irreverent but topical comments were very good. And relevant.

It was at the end though that I thought he excelled.

After all of the celebrations he took two minutes to say something that struck home. The essence of the talk was that Dinners were more than just a boost of ego’s, but rather an opportunity to meet people. And that meeting of people (networking the marketers would have it) is critical to business. It is important that we know who we are dealing with, that we like them and we trust them. And the internet or emails (or even blogs!) cannot do that.

We are a social species and we rely on contact with other human beings.

I was reminded of a story I was told some time ago about a very large Insurance company who, once per month took all of the staff to a venue so they could talk to each other. They communicated all day, every day, but vie email. The company recognized that this was not always a good thing – and that ‘putting a face to a name’ was very important.

I was impressed with Giles ending poem:

From quiet homes and first beginning,
Out to the undiscovered ends,
There’s nothing worth the wear of winning,
But laughter and the love of friends

Business friends have a true place in our lives – and can make the difference between a menial job and one which is self-fulfilling.

Getting out of the office can be good for the soul!