Property/facility managers define their pitch
Though other companies were involved in the competition for the contract, the fact that C&W H&B had also been leasing agents for the building's anchor tenant, Commercial Union, has led some to suggest that the result of the tender was a forgone conclusion. On the other hand, it might come as a surprise to others that DTZ wasn't selected, given its close relationship with Crown Point's developer, the Ghelamco Group.
Ghelamco's Jeroen van der Toolen is quite prepared to admit that C&W H&B's affinity to his tenant, had some bearing on the decision to appoint them: "Commercial Union was very happy with Cushman & Wakefield," he says "and we work for our clients." The tender, which van der Toolen insists wasn't an "open" one, involved around three to five other companies, according to C&W H&B's Michael Atwell, whose colleague Michał Skaliński simply claims that "we offered Ghelamco an excellent job for a reasonable price." That DTZ weren't called upon to manage the building is nothing for anyone to lose sleep over, maintains van der Toolen, who states, "We don't have exclusive contracts, so why should I push for DTZ?"
International real estate consultants, such as C&W H&B, have been making significant inroads into the property management market over the past three years or so and that company now manages five office buildings and the Wola Park retail center in Warsaw, as well as providing management consultancy for the Złote Tarasy scheme, which is currently being constructed.
"A decision was made three years ago," says Michael Atwell, who is C&W H&B's head of retail asset management, "to put management high on the priority list and market and promote it." The team he now works with, he claims, is the "fastest growing in the company" and now numbers eight, compared to "two or three" back in 2001. The existence of other branches of the company is a big advantage when pitching for contracts, he acknowledges, and his agency colleagues, "can help introduce" the management offer to potential clients, but he also insists that his team does gain work on its own, and the Wola Park deal was an example of this.
C&W H&B offer both property and facility management services, but have their own definitions of what these are, which aren't entirely shared by other companies on the Polish market. "For us," says Atwell, "facility management is the operation of the building: cleaning, security and maintenance, for example, and as a property manager you can supervise all that with one sub-contractor or four, or whatever. The facility manager wouldn't normally do the tenant liaison, invoicing, rent collection, financial invoicing etc," which is the remit of the property manager. A lot of other companies in the field probably wouldn't disagree with that summary, but they might be at variance with another aspect of C&W H&B's facility management work. "As property manager, you will be managing the building on behalf of the landlord, but facility management is actually the provision of services to tenants," explains Atwell.
GP Bis is a confirmed facility management company and its understanding of what it does is pretty much in line with the distinction Atwell initially draws above. Where it would differ is that it is very firmly "a service provider to landlords," according to the firm's Krzystof Litwinski, and works to "reduce costs" for them. Unlike the team at C&W H&B, who believe that there might be "a benefit in establishing a forum to discuss and define the roles of property and facility management," in Michael Atwell's words, Litwinski believes that any differences are mainly a matter of "focus and accent." The bigger problem in his view is that there is a lack of education among end-users about real estate management as a whole. "Five or six years ago," he says, "real estate management was identified with just changing light bulbs and not pro-active programs to reduce costs and treat real estate as an investment. There is still a limited understanding about that on the part of end-users."
Ghelamco's Jeroen van der Toolen is quite prepared to admit that C&W H&B's affinity to his tenant, had some bearing on the decision to appoint them: "Commercial Union was very happy with Cushman & Wakefield," he says "and we work for our clients." The tender, which van der Toolen insists wasn't an "open" one, involved around three to five other companies, according to C&W H&B's Michael Atwell, whose colleague Michał Skaliński simply claims that "we offered Ghelamco an excellent job for a reasonable price." That DTZ weren't called upon to manage the building is nothing for anyone to lose sleep over, maintains van der Toolen, who states, "We don't have exclusive contracts, so why should I push for DTZ?"
International real estate consultants, such as C&W H&B, have been making significant inroads into the property management market over the past three years or so and that company now manages five office buildings and the Wola Park retail center in Warsaw, as well as providing management consultancy for the Złote Tarasy scheme, which is currently being constructed.
"A decision was made three years ago," says Michael Atwell, who is C&W H&B's head of retail asset management, "to put management high on the priority list and market and promote it." The team he now works with, he claims, is the "fastest growing in the company" and now numbers eight, compared to "two or three" back in 2001. The existence of other branches of the company is a big advantage when pitching for contracts, he acknowledges, and his agency colleagues, "can help introduce" the management offer to potential clients, but he also insists that his team does gain work on its own, and the Wola Park deal was an example of this.
C&W H&B offer both property and facility management services, but have their own definitions of what these are, which aren't entirely shared by other companies on the Polish market. "For us," says Atwell, "facility management is the operation of the building: cleaning, security and maintenance, for example, and as a property manager you can supervise all that with one sub-contractor or four, or whatever. The facility manager wouldn't normally do the tenant liaison, invoicing, rent collection, financial invoicing etc," which is the remit of the property manager. A lot of other companies in the field probably wouldn't disagree with that summary, but they might be at variance with another aspect of C&W H&B's facility management work. "As property manager, you will be managing the building on behalf of the landlord, but facility management is actually the provision of services to tenants," explains Atwell.
GP Bis is a confirmed facility management company and its understanding of what it does is pretty much in line with the distinction Atwell initially draws above. Where it would differ is that it is very firmly "a service provider to landlords," according to the firm's Krzystof Litwinski, and works to "reduce costs" for them. Unlike the team at C&W H&B, who believe that there might be "a benefit in establishing a forum to discuss and define the roles of property and facility management," in Michael Atwell's words, Litwinski believes that any differences are mainly a matter of "focus and accent." The bigger problem in his view is that there is a lack of education among end-users about real estate management as a whole. "Five or six years ago," he says, "real estate management was identified with just changing light bulbs and not pro-active programs to reduce costs and treat real estate as an investment. There is still a limited understanding about that on the part of end-users."
