The handover for a centre of this size is always complex, largely owing to the large volume of information, both financial and commercial, that needs to be onboarded. Bannon have a handover checklist that is tailored depending on the instruction. This included, but was not limited to, the following;

• Tenancy schedule to include all lease documents.
• Service charge budget & apportionment plus the last 3 years audit certs.
• Confirmation of insurance details, apportionment and most recent reinstatement valuation.
• Details of contractors working onsite to include any agreements in place.
• Tenant account histories (rent & service charge) and contact details.
• A full accounts handover to include rent, service charge & sinking fund balances plus a creditor transaction listing.
• The Centre Management team details.

Following receipt of the onboarding information, it’s vital that contact is established with all tenants to ensure there’s no falloff in cashflow during the handover period. Issuing new bank account details to each tenant in advance of the handover date is crucial. The majority of licences in the centre were due to expire in January 2023, owing to the proposed redevelopment of the centre. Bannon’s objective, in conjunction with letting agents JLL, was to extend the licences out to January 2024. As part of this process, Covid deals were put in place to provide retailers with rent concessions for the periods of closure owing to Government restrictions across 2020 & 2021.

The onboarding also involved the TUPE of the onsite staff.  This initially involved engaging with the onsite team to ensure that they were reassured that the terms of their employment would remain unchanged, and continuity of service would prevail.  Following this new employment contracts were put in place and Staff Handbooks signed.