Some of our property management colleagues in attendance at the Shopping Centre Managers Association Ireland annual meeting this morning.
The Bannon Property Management Team has continued its growth from 2022 with a number of new instructions across the island. Q1 of 2023 has started off on the same footing with a number of new hires across the surveying and accounts team. Bannon now manages more than 1 in 4 of Irelands Shopping Centres & Retail Parks welcoming over 100 million customers every year. While the majority of our instructions are retail (Shopping Centres or Retail Parks), we also manage an increasing number of office buildings, most particularly in Dublin. This has required the team to focus on the sustainability aims of our clients and putting in place projects to achieve the goals.
The department has a 40-strong team of surveyors and accountants from 10 counties across Ireland. This is representative of the portfolio as we manage assets across all 4 provinces as we continue to grow our presence as a nationwide business.
The Bannon Head Office is based in Dublin, however, the firm adopts a hybrid working model for the Property Management Team. In several cases our surveyors live and work in the locality of the assets they manage.
The geographical spread of the Bannon portfolio and the surveyors who work with them, give us unique insights into the locality in which assets are located. Local knowledge is essential to ensure that the needs of local customers are met.
With recent instructions in Cork City and Cork County Bannon now has a major presence in the Cork market. This is in addition to new shopping centre management instructions in Waterford and Kilkenny.
If you want to talk to the Bannon team about managing a commercial property asset or are interested in joining Ireland’s fastest growing property management team, please check out www.bannon.ie.
Author: William Lambe, Divisional Director, Bannon
Date: 4th May 2023
Due to the continued growth of the Bannon Property Management portfolio we are delighted to welcome Sarah Fortune to the team. Sarah joins as an Associate Director and brings with her a wealth of property management experience.
Ray Geraghty – Director of Property Management commented “We are really pleased to welcome someone with Sarah’s experience to the team. Sarah is someone who is held in a very high regard in our sector and who will contribute to the ongoing growth of the Property Management department at Bannon”.
Sustainability is a critical issue in modern property management, with more and more owners and occupiers seeking to adopt eco-friendly practices and reduce their carbon footprint. From a commercial property management perspective, there are several key strategies and best practices that can be used to promote sustainability and reduce environmental impact.
One important strategy is to focus on energy efficiency. Commercial buildings by their nature are some of the largest consumers of energy, and reducing energy usage can have a significant impact on both the environment and the bottom line. This can be achieved through a range of measures, such as improving insulation, installing energy-efficient lighting and appliances, installing solar photovoltaic arrays and implementing a smart building system that monitors and controls energy usage.
Another area of focus is water conservation. Many commercial properties use vast amounts of water, from landscaping and irrigation to bathroom facilities and kitchenettes. To reduce water consumption, property managers can implement low-flow fixtures, such as toilets and showerheads, as well as drought-resistant landscaping and rainwater harvesting systems.
Sustainable property management also involves waste reduction and recycling efforts. Property managers can encourage occupiers to reduce waste by providing recycling facilities and implementing composting programs. They can also work with contractors and suppliers to ensure that materials and products are sourced sustainably, and that waste is disposed of responsibly.
Environmental assessment method and rating system for buildings programs, such as BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology), provide a framework for sustainable property management and can help property owners and managers to evaluate and improve their environmental performance, build more sustainable environment as a whole. By achieving BREEAM certification or other green building certifications, property managers can demonstrate their commitment to sustainability and attract environmentally conscious occupiers.
Finally, sustainable property management involves engaging and educating occupiers about sustainability and environmental issues. Property managers can provide educational materials and resources, host events and workshops, and encourage occupiers to adopt sustainable practices in their daily operations.
Overall, sustainability is a critical issue in commercial property management, and there are many strategies and best practices that can be used to promote sustainability and reduce environmental impact. By focusing on energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction and recycling, green building certification, and occupier engagement, property managers can help to create more sustainable, eco-friendly commercial properties that meet the needs of both businesses and the planet.
Author: Alex Staskunas, Property Manager, Bannon
Date: 23rd March 2023
As per the SCSI / RICS Code of Practice definitions, service charges in commercial property enable an owner to recover the costs of servicing and operating a property. This is for the benefit of the occupiers and users of the services and facilities provided within the property.
The service charge arrangement is dictated by the lease of the property and presents what responsibilities fall to the service charge regime and what responsibilities fall to the occupier.
One of the key roles of the Bannon Property Management team is compiling the annual service charge budgets for the assets under our management. When doing this work, we are conscious of the impact service charge regimes have on occupiers and owners. If the budget is set too low, cashflow issues arise that affect the smooth operation of the asset. This can lead to a deterioration of the asset which will have numerous implications for users, occupiers and owners. Alternatively set the budget too high and this impacts on the viability of occupiers to pay and ability to let units.
Having a high service charge per square foot also has an impact on the rental rates the owner can achieve. This in turn negatively impacts the asset value. Therefore, it is paramount that property managers are constantly reviewing, and tracking service charge spend. This is easier said than done.
When setting the 2022 service charge budgets in Q4 2021 no surveyor could have predicted the war in Ukraine and the subsequent disruption this would create in the world economy. It is hard to believe that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has resulted in the increase occupational costs for occupiers in Irish commercial assets!
Given the increase in operational costs worldwide since January 2022, most Irish commercial assets with service charge liabilities are looking at a balancing charge at the end of the year. This is when annual service charge expenditure has exceeded the annual budgeted figure. This is due to service charge budgets being set before an escalation of the War and subsequent impact on the global economy.
The current landscape is substantially different to when we were setting 2022 service charge budgets. With the ongoing energy crisis and global economic conditions, setting 2023 service charge budgets will be more challenging than ever. Significant increases in energy costs coupled with construction costs increasing by 14% over the past 12 months according to the SCSI’s construction cost index (July 21-June 22) have created these challenges. The addition of ERO (Employment Regulation Order) increased hourly rates for cleaning and security professionals, combined with these challenges, means that we are dealing with a perfect storm.
it is imperative that the property manager strikes a balance between having a sustainable and affordable service charge budget, but to also ensure there are funds to maintain the common areas.
This is a fine balance and Bannon predicts service charge regimes will increase significantly in 2023. This will lead to hard choices for asset managers and owners. As market leaders, Irish-owned Bannon manages multiple commercial assets including shopping centres, retail parks and offices throughout Ireland. We have significant experience in setting and managing service charge budgets, helping our clients find this balance.
Author: William Lambe, Divisional Director, Bannon
Date: 5th October 2022
As market leaders, Irish- owned Bannon manages over 75 commercial assets including shopping centres, retail parks and offices with a combined footfall of over 100 million visitors per annum. Given the level of footfall through the assets under our management, we prioritise the safety and efficiency of all plant and equipment. One area that we give significant attention to is vertical transportation equipment.
Vertical transportation refers to different types of equipment used to move building users between different levels of a building. Examples from our portfolio include passenger lifts, goods lifts, escalators, passenger conveyors and disabled access platforms in both retail and office settings.
Due to the essential nature and complexity of vertical transportation systems, Bannon engages TÜV SÜD Dunbar Boardman as specialist consultants. TÜV SÜD Dunbar Boardman is Europe’s leading independent lift & escalator consultancy, and they currently support over 18,000 lift units across Europe. Our partnership and collaboration with the firm dates back several years.
The Bannon management portfolio includes over 205 individual vertical transportation units. We utilise 10 different lift contractors to maintain and repair the units on our clients’ behalf. TÜV SÜD Dunbar Boardman helps us ensure that we are getting best performance and efficiencies from our assets which are serviced by our lift maintenance contractors, thus providing value for money.
TÜV SÜD Dunbar Boardman offer a full range of services including design, asset management, maintenance management support, condition reporting, project management, witness testing and expert witness.
Within the maintenance management services Tuv Sud review and process statutory inspection reports ensuring completion of all items under the terms of the maintenance contract and obtain quotations for any works that are deemed out of the contact scope.
One of the main roles performed by TÜV SÜD Dunbar Boardman is completing competitive tenders for maintenance contracts and modernisation or complete replacement of this equipment. In addition to tendering and putting contracts in place, they also manage our maintenance contracts. This includes sign off and review quotations for repair works to the equipment which fall outside the scope of the maintenance contract, process statutory inspection reports ensuring completion of all items under the terms of the maintenance contract.
At Bannon our culture is to provide best-in-class service to our clients and users across our portfolio. We achieve this by collaborating with industry leaders and partners such as TÜV SÜD Dunbar Boardman to provide service delivery levels that will ensure quality, compliance, cost awareness and safety to our lift users.
Author: William Lambe, Divisional Director, Bannon
Date: 23rd August 2022
Date 31st May 2022: Retail property market leader, Bannon, has been appointed by Ardstone to manage Citywest Shopping Centre. This is the latest in a series of new wins for the firm.
The Citywest area was launched in the 1990s with the building of the business campus and hotel, the largest in the country. The development, was followed by an explosion of residential property, with planning in place for additional houses and apartments. In 2007 Citywest Shopping Centre was opened with retail units varying in size from 816 to 7,502 square feet.
Bannon is Ireland’s largest, domestically owned commercial property consultancy firm. It manages over 50 retail shopping centres and retail parks across the country, covering seven million sq.ft. of commercial real estate worth c. €2 billion. As market leaders, Bannon has advised and managed the country’s most notable retail spaces in the last thirty years such as Stephen’s Green S.C., Dundrum Town Centre, Blanchardstown S.C., Swords Pavilions. and The Square Tallaght.
Commenting on the new addition to their portfolio, Director of the Bannon Property Management team, Ray Geraghty said “Bannon are delighted to be working with Ardstone on what is another very significant shopping centre instruction. This instruction is further validation of the unrivalled expertise which the Bannon property management team possess. We are looking forward to bringing this experience to bear over the coming months which will be particularly relevant given the proposed residential development which Ardstone have planned for the site adjacent to the shopping centre.’’
For further information contact: Ray Geraghty Email: rgeraghty@bannon.ie Tel: 01 6477900.
At Bannon we manage over 75 individual commercial assets including Shopping Centres, Retail Parks, Neighbourhood Schemes, Multi Let and Single Let Offices. This represents over 7 million sq.ft of commercial real estate in Ireland, with an estimated value of €2 billion.
Given our involvement and exposure within this industry, we are regularly engaged to assist purchasers with the property management due diligence process associated with large scale property transactions. This process is particularly complex when it comes to the purchase of multi let retail assets.
When concerns are presented, an investor can only then appreciate the importance and benefits of a pre – sale due diligence. It highlights the perils associated with buying an asset and ultimately determines the price they will pay for the asset on closing.
A typical due diligence process will involve several specific fields of expertise, namely: Legal, Tax, Building Surveying, Planning, Sustainability, Property Investment and Management.
Once engaged, Bannon will work closely with the relevant advisors to ensure a thorough review of all property management related topics are analysed. As part of a due diligence process for a commercial property we would typically provide advice concerning the following items;
The list above is dependent on the complexity of the asset in question and can be amended to take account of asset specific variables.
Ordinarily the above information would be readily available from a data room which would be set up by the vendors agent. Once the information is received it takes some time to comprehend and consolidate such a vast quantity of information into a format which is easily understood by both our client and legal representative when negotiating the finer detail on closing of a sale.
In advance of such negotiations, we will equip our client with the findings from the due diligence process, paying particular attention to areas of concern. Common concerns which can arise from a due diligence process include;
If you are considering an investment in a commercial property, please do not hesitate to reach out to a member of the Bannon Property Management team.
Author: Eugene Burns, Associate Director, Bannon
Date: 27th April 2022
Bannon is delighted to announce that it has entered into a partnership with Site Passport to establish the Bannon Verified Supplier platform. Site Passport transforms the way companies access, evaluate, monitor and analyse their supply chain. They do this by providing smarter, integrated and automated solutions that deliver increased competitiveness, enhanced reputation and reduced risk.
The Bannon Verified Supplier platform is a bespoke online resource designed in conjunction with Site Passport to ensure that all contractors working on Bannon managed sites meet the highest levels of standards. In order to qualify as a Bannon Verified Supplier, our partners must meet the following minimum criteria:
To date we have verified over 80 contractors through the process. The verifying process ensures that only the most proactive and efficient contractors are engaged on Bannon managed sites. We insist that all our contractors are committed to meeting sustainability and environmental goals in line with our company ethos. All contractors must demonstrate that they have a proactive sustainability policy that is being adhered to and actively monitored We also encourage contractors to use the most efficient and environmentally friendly products available to the market.
As market leaders, Bannon manages over 75 commercial assets including Shopping Centres, Retail Parks and Offices with a combined footfall of over 100 million visitors per annum. Therefore, we put a premium on ensuring that all contractors who work on Bannon managed sites are industry leaders who like us, strive to meet the highest of standards. This is imperative to our role as managing agents. Bannon is committed to ensuring that all assets under our management are safe, clean and a welcoming environment for all users. This is achieved by partnering with contractors who share our values and are committed to our best-in-class approach. The Bannon Verified Supplier platform is another tool to help Bannon achieve this.
Author: William Lambe, Divisional Director, Bannon
Date: 1st April 2022
There is a word in the Irish language which describes a storyteller. It is “seanchaí”. The author, Frank Rose, has explored storytelling and its effect on human behaviour and decision making in his recently released book “The Sea We Swim In” published by Random House. One of the themes of his book is the role of storytelling in the marketing of products. Telling the story of a product’s journey rather than simply including it in a catalogue, results in increased sales.
This theory is based on the belief that consumers make a purchasing choice based on available product information. When invested in the product’s origin story and journey, they are persuaded to purchase in greater quantities and at a higher price point. Through our retail clients, we see increasing consumer queries regarding the provenance of the goods they are buying and the story of the journey the products have taken to arrive on our shelves.
In recent LinkedIn articles we have provided updates on the great number of retail occupiers who are refurbishing and redesigning the space that they occupy within our centres. In these refurbishments there has been a shift towards lifestyle designs. This allows the retail space to enable and promote the story of the products. Consumers can handle and explore in-store before a potential purchase or online order.
Post lockdown, we have worked with over 20 retailers who have invested in store refits across our portfolio of 50 shopping centres and retail parks. In our recent Retail Pulse Jan 22 / Q4 2021, sales in shopping centres for December 2021 was 6% above the same period in 2019. This shows that there is an increased amount of business available to support this investment in stores.
Consumer behaviour regarding the story, provenance and origin of retail products is also matched by investors’ Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) requirements regarding their property portfolio. In future updates we will highlight case studies on how our current retail stock is being refurbished and redesigned to include sustainability and environmental factors. This may in turn be an opportunity to evolve and harness the consumer movement towards a more immersive retail story telling retail journey.
For now, we at Bannon will continue to be the seanchaí for the Retail Sector in Ireland!
Author: Peter Nicklin, Property Management Surveyor, Bannon
Date: 14th February 2022
Ireland’s largest, domestically owned commercial property consultancy firm Bannon, has been appointed by Davy Real Estate to manage Stephens Green Shopping Centre. Located in the most prestigious and cultural area of Dublin city centre, the shopping centre comprises over 320,000 sq. ft. of lettable retail floor area.
Bannon manages over 50 retail shopping centres and retail parks across the country, covering six million sq. ft. of commercial real estate worth c. €2 billion. As market leaders, Bannon has advised and managed the country’s most notable retail spaces in the last thirty years such as Dundrum Town Centre, Blanchardstown S.C., Swords Pavilions. and The Square. Commenting on the appointment, Director of the Bannon Property Management team, Ray Geraghty said “We are extremely proud to be working with Davy Real Estate on Ireland’s most iconic retail destination and the first premium shopping centre built in the country. The appointment is further validation of the team’s unrivalled experience managing assets in the retail sector.”
Since the start of 2022, Bannon are responsible for the management of the shopping centre which includes over 100 retail outlets. As the retail sector emerges from the effects of COVID-19 lockdowns, Bannon’s management role will involve the smooth day-to-day running of the busy centre and ensuring rent and service charge collection is maximised for Davy Real Estate.
Ray Geraghty continued “Our experience is supported by a strong cross departmental approach in Bannon. The Property Management team work seamlessly with the Consultancy, Agency and Professional Services arms of the business. This results in a consistent line of communication to our clients. We are excited to get to know the occupiers of Stephens Green Shopping Centre, and working closer with them, centre management and the investors to make the centre stronger, more profitable and more sustainable.”
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