Cater for customers, not just tenants

However, while reading the cycle is an essential part of our job, it is not just identifying when we will deliver new office space that motivates me, but how and to whom.

After all, in commercial property we are reliant on the businesses we develop and manage office space for, and we have a responsibility towards them too. In that sense, we are really no different to any other sector. So it stands to reason that, like other sectors, we should put the companies we serve at the heart of everything we do.

For me, this starts with recognising that these companies are our customers and dropping the word ‘tenant’. Though demand for space may exceed supply, it is still relatively low; we cannot afford to take our customers for granted by forgetting that they are just that.

Next, we must do more than respond to our customers’ needs; we must anticipate them. It is here we can learn a thing or two from the retail sector, which makes a virtue out of its obsession with shoppers’ behaviour. Steve Jobs instructed “get closer than ever to your customers. So close that you tell them what they need well before they realise it themselves.” So how do we apply this to what we do?

Every business tells us they need cost-effective and efficient offices, but it is up to us to examine the minutiae of modern business practices to decode what this really means, both today and in five, 10 and 20 years’ time.

At Land Securities we have done just that and are committed to delivering office spaces that maximise productivity, foster innovation, facilitate integration and attract and retain talent.

The Zig Zag Building is perhaps the poster child for this pledge. Completing later this year, the Patrick Lynch-designed development on Victoria Street is nicknamed ‘The Thoughtful Building’ because of its occupier-focused details. Some are immediately attractive, like the private terraces, natural light and smart heating. Others, like the basement lockers, showers and towel service, anticipate a not-too-distant future when more and more Londoners commute by bike.

Some of the Zig Zag Building’s features look even longer-term. Windows that open may not be top of every customer’s list today, but as the air quality and noise levels in central London improve — for example, when more vehicles are electric — that will change, and businesses in the building will be equipped to take advantage.

It is still worth remembering though that one size doesn’t fit all, so we need to be equipped to answer customers’ very specific requirements and ambitions. For example, asset managers such as Jupiter are desperate for technical resilience. Having partnered with UK Power Networks to invest in the West End’s first main substation to be built for 20 years, we are able to provide a resilient, high-capacity power network across Victoria, guaranteeing business effectiveness and energy efficiency.

Other customers need space to consolidate or grow. Mizuho Group was created by the merger of three Japanese banks, so when it looked for a new London HQ, it wanted a physical space that could foster a sense of unity among staff, something it found at 2 New Ludgate.

Meanwhile, the floorplates at 20 Fenchurch Street have the flexibility to accommodate growing headcounts and are large enough to allow insurer RSA to bring all its people in London under one roof for the first time.

By creating optimum working environments, our customers can stay at the top of their game — good news for everyone. We recently pre-let 1 New Street Square, EC4, in its entirety to Deloitte, allowing it to expand its existing campus, something we could not have achieved without keeping its needs as a valued customer close to our hearts. That is why, as we deliver and let a further 1m sq ft of space across Victoria, Midtown and the City, we will stay focused on our customers’ complex, ever-changing needs.

Colette O’Shea is managing director of theLondon portfolio at Land Securities