Grosvenor to overhaul leasing model to cut red tape

Grosvenor is reviewing its leasing model as part of a wider plan to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy. The move comes after the firm set up an innovation board to encourage its employees to think of fresh ideas for the business. Spearheading these plans is Amelia Staveley (pictured), who last year took over the running of Grosvenor’s London portfolio with Anna Bond and now chairs the innovation board. Staveley is director of development and placemaking, while Bond is portfolio director for the London estate. Staveley says the firm needs to adapt faster to the changing world around it. This was a key factor behind the creation of the innovation board, which has the power to invest financially in trialling ideas. “The innovation board means we can circumnavigate our traditional governance process to make it easier for people to come up with ideas,” she says. One such idea includes overhauling the company’s leasing processes. Staveley says the firm is looking at modernising the system. “We want to make our leasing processes electronic. It is more about being short, simple and electronic so [documents] can go backwards and forwards between us and the retailer and office occupiers.” She also wants to make them easier to understand “because some of the old language is just not helpful for tenants”. “We see the leases day in and day out so we know the inference of what everything says, but for a tenant coming in for the first time and taking space it’s a lot more complicated. “In terms of reviewing our leases I think we should look at everything. I don’t believe necessarily having a longer lease makes it safer for either the tenant or the landlord, so I think reviewing the language and the length and the relevance of everything will be key,” she adds. “But it’s really early days. We’ve started thinking about it, but we don’t have the answers yet.” Starting with retail The firm’s decision to review its leasing model follows the launch of its retail concierge service in November. This project was one of the first to be put into action by Grosvenor’s innovation team and aims to help retailers with various tasks including setting up physical stores. Grosvenor owns 1.75m sq ft of retail space spread across 534 units, and approximately two-thirds of retailers on the estate are independent brands. The company’s innovation team identified retail as the first sector to focus on due to the pressures physical stores in the West End are under. Currently, these stores face competition from online retailers, as well as business rate hikes and other financial challenges, including inflation and devaluation of sterling, Staveley says. She adds: “Out of the entire London estate, retail is what defines the identity of the places that we manage, and therefore getting that right is one of the most important things. “The vast majority of retailers on the estate are opening physical space for the first time, and it’s always challenging for them to open.” In addition to overhauling its leases, Grosvenor is focusing on technology that will allow it to share data on footfall and demographics of the people on the estate’s streets regularly with its retailers. Staveley hopes that, in return, the retailers will share their turnover data and together this will enable them to improve their offering. Over the next few months, Staveley says the company’s London office portfolio will also come under the innovation team’s microscope. Grosvenor is already planning to create more “plug and play space” for office occupiers to make it easier for them to take space. Staveley also expects the business to sign more management agreements over the course of this year with third-party providers to bring in more flexible office space. Grosvenor, unlike the Crown Estate or REITs such as British Land and Landsec, has no plans of its own to offer a flexible or co-working service. Going forward, it will be interesting to see how the company performs in 2019. So far, it seems that, less than one year into the job, Staveley is already on course to shake things up at one of the UK’s oldest property companies. Grosvenor’s innovation board Amelia Staveley – director of development and placemaking Sam Monger – director of strategy Jorge Mendonça – executive director, Grosvenor Developments Rob Nunn – head of learning and development Craig O’Donnell – digital products director   To send feedback, e-mail louise.dransfield@egi.co.uk or tweet @DransfieldL or @estatesgazette