THE VALUE OF A STRONG AND CONNECTED NETWORK

Outsourcing Your Real Estate Needs to Reduce Your Bottom Line

Managing your real estate across one city can be difficult enough. However, trying to optimize a  portfolio of locations or source opportunities across the country is truly challenging. That is because understanding the local dynamics such as rental rates, market values, and availabilities takes focused and consistent effort. Further, building a rolodex of key players in the market is crucial to gaining access to off-market opportunities, having influence over the development process, and securing the best deal possible. But doing so takes a personal presence over many years. That is why many companies leverage having ‘boots on the ground’ as an integral part of their overall business and real estate strategy.

That being said, hiring a full-time specialist or team for each market in addition to your core real estate department can be quite the investment. And if you do not have a need that justifies the amount of overhead required to get your operations going, then it may prudent to consider outsourcing your real estate functions to a third-party with a pre-existing network, professional expertise, and deep market knowledge.

That is exactly what our Client came to us looking for: guidance on a relocation on the other side of the country in an extremely short timeframe.

So, with that said, let’s examine how Lee Toronto’s Corporate Solutions Group was able to help Bartlett Tree Experts secure a long-term deal for an ideal facility, despite a competitive bidding scenario taking place thousands of kilometers away.

Challenge:

Prior to engaging our Corporate Real Estate team, Bartlett Tree Experts had been sourcing locations at a local level without an overall transaction management strategy. Having recently executed a successful lease transaction in the Toronto market, Bartlett was in need of help to source a new location in Kelowna.

Their Landlord had given them notice that they needed vacant possession upon expiry and were faced with the challenge of looking for new space in a short timeframe. With the North Central Kelowna market regentrifying into a trendy pocket of microbreweries and industrial building conversions, the market was tight will little to no availability for a contractor yard suited to their use.

Transaction:

As soon as we were tasked by our Client, we immediately analyzed the market, tapped into our network and exhausted all of our resources to compile a short list of qualified opportunities. In an effort to provide the most possible options, we expanded our search to other parts of the city. However, given the limited inventory, we assessed the impact such a move would have on Bartlett’s business and decided to narrow our efforts on North Central Kelowna as the preferred target market.

With time being of the essence, we engaged in a strategic partnership with a local broker to ensure all bases were covered. Ultimately, we focused our attention on a preferred site that was located close to their existing location.

Results:

Despite a competitive, multiple-offer scenario, we were able to successfully negotiate a 10-year term at 991-1001 Ellis Ave. We supported Bartlett through the due diligence and conditional periods right through to the final Lease execution.

Throughout our representation process, we were able to demonstrate the value in Bartlett’s tenancy to the Landlord in order to beat out competing offers and ultimately execute a long-term deal that was favourable to both parties.

“We couldn’t be happier with the service we received. Nicole and the rest of the team were extremely attentive and easy to deal with.”

– Noah Violini – Division Manager & VP, Canada – Bartlett Tree Experts

Summary

Overall, companies seeking to manage, expand, and optimize their real estate across several markets may realize the investment and overhead required to do so can be significant.

For those businesses without a specific need or a high enough volume of transactions to justify it, leveraging a third-party with a pre-existing network, professional expertise, and deep market knowledge can not only reduce your bottom line, but it can improve the performance of your real estate, and ultimately, your core business.