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A significant proportion of corporate real estate tends to be owned by corporate occupiers for historic reasons. This may be as a result of financial planning, the use of property as a hedge against inflation or the chance of capital gains from property redevelopment. Very often, however, property has accumulated through pure inertia or lack of management focus. Consequently, for many companies, real estate is not adding shareholder value and it is perceived to be ‘an operational pain’. This paper focuses on how corporate occupiers can manage the contribution their operational properties make to shareholder value.

This paper seeks to summarise the main research findings from a detailed, qualitative set of structured interviews and case studies of Real Estate Partnership (REP) schemes in the UK, which involve the construction of built facilities. The research, which was funded by the Foundation for the Built Environment, examines the evolution of REPs in the UK and in Europe. The paper also aims to analyse best practice, critical factors for success, and lessons for the future.

The research in this paper is based around ten semi‐structured interviews conducted with senior representatives from corporate occupiers, property consultants, legal practices and REP service providers.

The research in the paper demonstrates that REPs are particularly suited to the UK, where lease lengths are relatively long, and the level of corporate real estate owner‐occupation is often higher than elsewhere. It also shows that further research is needed to examine the future shape and form of the UK REP market.

The paper is based on a limited number of in‐depth case study interviews. The paper shows that further research is needed to find better ways to examine REPs empirically.

The paper is important in highlighting a number of main issues in developing REPs: identifying with occupier's objectives; risk transfer and size of contract; and developing appropriate innovation and skills.

The paper examines the drivers, barriers and critical success factors (at strategic and operational levels) for REPs in the UK in detail and will be of value to property managers, facilities managers, investors, financiers, and others involved in the REP process.

The UK private finance initiative (PFI) public policy is heavily criticised. PFI contracts are highly profitable leading to incentives for PFI private-sector companies to support PFI public policy. This contested nature of PFIs requires legitimation by PFI private-sector companies, by means of impression management, in terms of the attention to and framing of PFI in PFI private-sector company annual reports. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

PFI-related annual report narratives of three UK PFI private-sector companies, over seven years and across two periods of significant change in the development of the PFI public policy, are analysed using manual content analysis.

Results suggest that PFI private-sector companies use impression management to legitimise during periods of uncertainty for PFI public policy, to alleviate concerns, to provide credibility for the policy and to legitimise the private sector’s own involvement in PFI.

While based on a sizeable database, the research is limited to the study of three PFI private-sector companies.

The portrayal of public policy in annual report narratives has not been subject to prior research. The research demonstrates how managers of PFI private-sector companies present PFI narratives in support of public policy direction that, in turn, benefits PFI private-sector companies.

Property ownership can tie up large amounts of capital and management energy that business could employ more productively elsewhere. Competitive pressures, accounting changes and increasingly sophisticated occupier requirements are building demand for new and innovative ways to satisfy corporate occupation needs. The investment climate is also changing. Falling interest rates and falling inflation can be expected to undermine returns from the traditional FRI lease. In future, investment returns will be more dependent on active and innovative management geared to the needs of occupiers on whom income depends. Occupier and investor interests, therefore, look set to coincide, but unlocking the potential for both parties will depend on developing new finance and investment vehicles that align their respective needs. In the UK, examples include PFI in the public sector and off‐balance sheet financing in the private sector. In the USA, “synthetic lease” structures have also become popular. Growing investment market experience in assessing risks and returns suggests scope for further innovative arrangements in the corporate sector. But how can such arrangements be structured? What are the risks, drivers and barriers?

Purpose – This paper intends to respond the question that comes up to CRE managers when they consider the outsourcing technique for their CRE management and portfolio. The question, if it is possible to capture in the outsourcing contract sufficient flexibility to meet the changing needs of the business and add value, addresses the existing debate on flexibility arguing the suitability of the outsourcing structures for corporates portfolio. Design/methodology/approach – The paper undertakes a methodological analysis, considering the main outsourcing deals in the UK and continental Europe and discussing the main theories on management outsourcing. Theories of flexibility of CRE portfolios are considered and the main characteristics of the new REPs discussed. Findings – The paper finds that it is possible to capture in the outsourcing contract sufficient flexibility to meet the changing needs of the business and add value because a contract can capture all the flexibility desired and iit would add value as the properties would be used efficiently. Two outsourcing contracts in the UK are explained in two case studies, which support this. Originality/value – The paper suggests methods to outsource CRE portfolios and obtain adequate flexibility to add value to shareholders.

UK’s PFI (Private Finance Initiative) in the public sector has introduced radical innovations in the ways that new facilities and ongoing support services are financed. Fundamental changes in the concepts of business accommodation and service delivery are also under way, in which property is coming to be viewed as a business service rather than as a financial asset, helping to free core business capital while reducing the costs and increasing the quality of support service delivery. The diversification of the rules governing the property market, coupled with an increasingly sophisticated range of outsourcing arrangements, promises to provide a much greater variety and more flexible set of business support environments for the future.

This paper examines the realignment that is currently taking place within the property supply industry. It traces the origin of service provision within the industry during the last recession. It then outlines the evolution of service provision into a range of products, or occupancy solutions, to suit the increasingly complex needs of occupiers. The paper identifies the ‘new’ providers and explains the subtle differences in the breadth and depth of their offers. The paper ends with the key challenges facing both suppliers and occupiers of flexible solutions.

This paper questions whether carrying out the ‘sale‐and‐leaseback’ of corporate real estate is compatible with achieving the flexibility and cost effectiveness that companies need in the operation of their facilities. It looks at the advantages and disadvantages of sale‐and leaseback transactions and analyses how these compare with achieving wider business planning issues. The paper also reports on new real estate techniques pioneered by corporate real estate partnerships (REPs) transactions in Europe and examines whether this form of outsourcing is more in harmony with the goals of the modern corporate.

The purpose of this paper is to examine asset management in three cities. It is informed by polyphony as a theoretical perspective and draws on the fact‐building process to explore the practice of asset management in these study settings.

A comparative case study approach was adopted to have a broader understanding of the levels of complexity in the study of polyphony in asset management. With this aim, the three Scottish cities were analysed presenting a spectrum of city types.

The paper finds evidence of polyphony. The three cases show different degrees of controversies and achievements, providing a highly variegated picture of the effectiveness in pursuing an asset management policy.

Polyphony recognises the many voices of actors present in organisations. This perspective on asset management is an important, but relatively neglected facet of this aspect of city management. The paper provides an insight in this, showing the potential for the multiple voices of the many different actors within local government, all of whom may have distinct views on asset utilisation.

Draws on the results from a survey of real estate practices to identify changing trends in the property industry. This is then used as a basis for identifying and exploring how these changes are being manifested as commercial business propositions, and where this may lead the industry.