Spotlight on south east business occupier needs

Citation

(2001), "Spotlight on south east business occupier needs", Facilities, Vol. 19 No. 10. https://doi.org/10.1108/f.2001.06919jab.005

Spotlight on south east business occupier needs

Spotlight on south east business occupier needsKeywords: Corporate property market, Occupiers, Research

Occupier organisation NACORE International's UK Chapter (representing corporate real estate executives) jointly with the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) is contributing to an investigation into the future business needs of corporares in the south-east. The project is being led by the research department of Vail Williams, together with occupancy specialists Interior plc, property lawyers Nabarro Nathanson and developers Akeler.

The pilot study in January produced views now to be tested on a wider audience. The researchers will cover business occupiers throughout the south-east and aim to discover patterns of need and pressures on businesses based in the area. Material assembled will be used by SEEDA in addressing skills and labour shortages, discussing future demands on infrastructure (such as transport and planning) and in planning future support for inward investment.

Through interviews with corporate occupiers, the survey aims to establish why companies chose to locate in the south-east and how they see the region's ability to meet their needs in the future. Key questions will centre around the interviewee's experience of acquiring and disposing of premises, property changes to be expected from new working practices (e.g. homeworking), the ease or otherwise of recruitment and salary levels in the region, the point at which the success of a business cluster (such as the Thames Valley) becomes a negative, and how far local authorities influence property decisions.

"We chose the Thames Valley area when we first moved into Europe and built our campus HQ in Reading, because of its proximity to Heathrow and our need for substantial new space", says NACORE member Tim Caiger, Oracle's property director. "Our US directors felt comfortable with the ease of access and the south-east offers a large and competent pool of potential staff. Whether it will continue to do so remains to be seen."

Endorsing this initiative, Stephen Brown, of the RICS Research Foundation, said: "Business needs are of paramount importance to the property profession so it is critical to understand how occupiers are reacting to property market pressures. This project will help develop our understanding of how location decisions are influenced by the capacity of particular places and what this means for policy and practice".

For further information re SEEDA contact: Debbie Catt, Head of Marketing and PR. Tel: +44 (0) 1483 484 231; Fax: +44 (0) 1483 576 663; E-mail: debbiecatt@seeda.co.uk

For further information re NACORE UK contact: Alison Sutherland. Tel: +44 (0) 20 7373 4427; Fax: +44 (0) 20 7244 7469; E-mail: alison@avsp.fsnet.co.uk