Instruction Synopsis
Propitas were appointed to carry out a pre-acquisition building survey of this landmark office building of 118,500 sq ft. The property was constructed in the 1980’s and had won numerous awards for it’s green credentials, but was retrospectively air-conditioned circa 2000.
We surveyed all aspects of the property, including specialist inspections of the services installations. This was particularly important given the retrospective and complex nature of the mechanical systems. Also of particular complexity was the atrium roof, which was comprised of both glazed and pitched portions as well as 18 individual flat roofs, all of which showed evidence of long term leakage.
HOW PROPITAS ADDED VALUE
In accordance with the client’s brief, the technical team inspected the premises and provided our executive summary report within 72 hours. We reviewed a limited amount of as-built information and, following the initial summary report issue, appointed specialists to undertake a detailed concrete inspection/test.
Our analysis of the roof construction identified a fundamental design flaw in the construction and highlighted likely ongoing issues that would likely require major capital expense. This was in spite of recent roof replacement works that had been managed and completed by a well-known competitor of Propitas. As a consequence, our attention to detail allowed the client to achieve a significant reduction on the purchase price.
Post acquisition, Propitas acted on behalf of the client to put in hand the necessary repairs to the atrium roof, which in turn allowed the client to achieve a significant new letting in this area and thus add significant value to the asset.
KEY INFORMATION
• The summary report was provided within 72 hours and highlighted the need for specialist further inspection, which we managed on behalf of the client
• Propitas highlighted the existence of design issues with the atrium roof
• Post acquisition, we were able to project manage all necessary repairs to the property and allow the client to improve values through active asset management
