Capita Symonds Blog

Central needs to look more to local…

2011-11-02T14:53:00.006Z

Workplace transformation, co-location, the public sector lease moratorium and ‘low-hanging fruit’ were all keywords used by Stephen Lovegrove - Chief Executive of the Shareholder Executive in his opening address to the Public Property Summit, at the Business Design Centre in London today in association with Capita Symonds.

Lovegrove was standing in for Minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude and his address echoed many of the strategies outlined by the latter at his Public Property Breakfast speech two weeks ago. Much in evidence again was the government’s ‘Stop & Go’ property strategy of putting a hold across all departments on the renewal of any property leases, and freeing up surplus land for housing and redevelopment.

The day’s first keynote session: ‘Outlining Government’s property strategy across the public sector’ featured Neil Warsop - Chief Operating Officer, Government Property Unit (GPU), Jenny Coombs - Project Director, Local Partnerships and Jonathan Goring - Managing Director, Capita Symonds. Giles Barrie – Editor, Property Week was Chair.

Warsop outlined how the Government’s ‘stop’ strategy had made a quick and significant impact, delivering c. £90m in the first 10 months since the election and set to double that by the end of this financial year. In terms of engaging with the private sector he explained how the GPU’s strategy was to consolidate internally first (to ‘get its own house in order first’ by tackling the ‘low hanging fruits’) before looking to the private sector to help with total workplace management and help it to ‘generate greater savings that the public sector can achieve alone’.

Warsop also illustrated what the government was doing to promote growth (the ‘Go’ part of its strategy) through the release of surplus land by departments and also the opportunities for stimulating regeneration through the potential relocation of government departments.

‘Does this country know what it owns?’ was the question posed by Jonathan Goring - focusing on the need for a better understanding – across both public and private sectors – of both local and central government property assets.

Both sectors can only fully understand efficiency, he asserted, when there is a clear picture of what assets are owned. Examples of where this date would be invaluable included the better collection of leaked revenues, rents and license fees across numerous departments such as Defence, Environment and Justice.

Jenny Coombs outlined how the best local authorities had been working on the property rationalisation challenge for many years and that the ‘argument had been won’ a long time ago at local government level on the value of rationalisation.

Coombs also pointed to a shift in approach by local authorities to co-location and shared facilities (something that Councils have perhaps been resistant to in the past). The scale of the deficit and the need for savings had driven this, forcing them to work together and redesign services.

It was clear that high performing local authorities are ‘well ahead’ of central government in their rationalisation of properties under their control – this, suggested Goring, was both because they have been doing it for longer and also that they have more fully embraced – so far – the ethos of workplace transformation and new ways of working. Both Goring and Coombs encouraged the GPU to look at the best practice already being achieved in some local authorities and engage with its local government partners more in achieving its own, much larger challenges.

In summing up the session Giles Barrie emphasised how simple property asset management – drawing on the expertise of both the public and private sectors – can achieve so much in terms of its contribution to the government’s deficit reduction strategy, without the need for major cuts or an impact on frontline services.

This was a sentiment shared across the podium and with delegates at the Summit, the challenge – summed up by Goring and by questions from the floor at the end of the session – is how this process can happen at a more rapid pace and how the private sector can fully engage with government in this process.

‘Stop’ is working, but what about the ‘Go’?

2011-10-21T16:02:00.010+01:00

Capita Symonds was sponsor of Movers & Shakers’ Public Property breakfast event at The Dorchester, London on 21 October.

Over 400 attendees sat in The Dorchester’s Ballroom to listen to a keynote opening address by Francis Maude – Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, followed by a debate chaired by Giles Barrie – Editor, Property Week and featuring Neil Warsop – Chief Operating Officer, Government Property Unit, Shareholder Executive; Cllr Sir Merrick Cockell – Chairman, Local Government Association; Francis Salway – Group Chief Executive, Land Securities; and Jonathan Goring – Managing Director, Capita Symonds.

Francis Maude gave his thoughts on central government property, and how its estate can contribute to the twofold challenges of dealing with the deficit, and at the same time promoting growth.

The public sector estate is, he conceded, too dispersed, in the wrong location, of poor grade and badly occupied in terms of utilisation of space. There is also currently too much of its estate under lease rather than freehold occupation.

The solutions to these issues, he outlined, are relocation, co-location and the better use of space – freeing up surplus property for redevelopment. A moratorium on the renewal of any new leases (the so-called ‘Stop’ element of the government’s current strategy) is also focussed on increasing the amount of freehold property being utilised.

Maude also emphasised that the government approach was not only about saving money, and that ‘thinking differently about how we use property’ was also paramount – including the encouraging of hot-desking and more flexible working practices across departments.

Housebuilding was also a priority, he said, to meet current demand. Central government departments are looking at ways to make available surplus land for development - with the Ministries of Defence, Health, Transport and DEFRA already publishing their plans to make available land for a further 50,000 homes - and an extension to the ‘Build Now, Pay Later’ scheme.

In the debate that followed, Property Week Editor Giles Barrie questioned the panel on the government’s property challenge – and how the Government Property Unit (GPU) was faring so far.

Francis Salway (Land Securities) felt that by not renewing leases, the GPU was “doing what its said it would do”, however he conceded that this does present problems for property owners in the private sector. He pointed out however that many of these vacated buildings are now ripe for a change of use, with many being redeveloped for residential use.

Jonathan Goring (Capita Symonds) urged the need for central government to ‘know what it owns’ and the need for a more comprehensive database of its assets so that the opportunities for co-location, alignment to departments and leakage are fully addressed; Neil Warsop (GPU) admitted that the GPU still had some work to do in gathering this information across its estate.

Goring also challenged the private sector to “prove it can be responsible” in supporting the public sector with its property challenges, and pointed to the good examples of best practice that already exist.

While the ‘Stop’ agenda was clearly working, and generating savings, Warsop conceded that the ‘Go’ agenda – of closer working across government departments, the better utilisation of space, and the availability of surplus land for redevelopment – was still ‘a challenge’, and one that he encouraged the private sector to engage with the GPU to help address.

Giving the audience an insight into how local government was addressing its own public sector property challenges, Sir Merrick Cockell (LGA) outlined how Councils needed to be more commercial in the use of their property and how many of their challenges – in regions across the UK – were not currently a focus for central government, which is focussed on getting its own house in order.

The event was an engaging and well-informed discussion on the ongoing property challenge from a panel representing all parties that have a role to play if the rationalisation of the public estate is to play a key role in the Government’s deficit programme. As chair Giles Barrie concluded, the scale of the challenge is such that ‘there are opportunities for everyone’ to benefit from getting it right.

Capita Symonds is lead sponsor of UBM’s Public Property Summit on 02 November 2011 at the Business Design Centre, London.

It’s not about costs…it’s about courage at Civil Service Live

2011-07-05T18:40:00.003+01:00

‘Its not all about costs’ was the topic under discussion at the Capita Symonds session on the first day of Civil Service Live at Olympia.

Chaired by political commentator and Senior Fellow, Institute for Government Peter Riddell the session offered both a public and private sector perspective on, as Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell (right) put it in his opening remarks “how we deliver public service with a third less money.”

O’Donnell went on to assert that the efficiency agenda is one that the civil service needs to own and that by managing the efficiency challenge – by avoiding excessive spend on procurement, communications etc – less will need to be cut from resources or front end service.

He also saw the commercial skills of the private sector as vital in helping the public sector, and mutuals, develop their ideas and potentially provide the capital necessary for making them a reality. Summing up, he challenged the private sector on how they can bring their specific skills to the public sector.

Fiona Spencer, Director of Shared Services at the Home Office outlined how shared business services – such as finance, procurement and HR – can cut costs and improve services.

She showed how the Ministry of Justice and Home Office’s shared business centre in Newport, now utilised by over 120,000 public sector staff, is now making savings of £33m pa.

Jonathan Goring, MD Capita Symonds told the audience that the private sector has “massive appetite” for working for the public sector – and for being judged on results rather than being tied into long contracts.

He explained how the private sector can bring capital investment to enable the public sector to enhance its assets, and how enhanced revenue collection such as rents can reduce the need for painful cuts elsewhere.

On behalf of the private sector he urged the public sector to “let us in and allow us to take a look” at the challenges they face so that better solutions can be proposed to the issues of the poor quality of asset/income data, ageing assets and the limited internal capital available to rationalise.

“It’s all about courage” Goring summarised, inviting individual government departments to be the first to embrace true partnership working with the private sector.

Wednesday 06 July sees Capita hosting a session on its Service Birmingham joint venture with Birmingham City Council and Capita Symonds invitation-only roundtable also takes place at the event – reported in Civil Service World magazine in coming weeks.

MIPIM 2011: Friday Update

2011-03-11T12:36:00.001Z

Andrew Pryke on the final day of MIPIM 2011

Friday

Up at 6.30am. A quick breakfast, pack and a walk to the bus for Nice Airport. Streets are deserted. The bus is already waiting. I can see Rob Firth, our previous Head of Architecture in the distance. I'll try and catch up with him later. The bus fills up with MIPIM delegates. Heads are down, no one seems to want a conversation. Business appears to be over. The week has caught up with everyone!

I count the business cards I have collected this week (the exchange of cards is obligatory with everyone you meet here)...52. Not bad. A number of good leads and follow ups. I know my colleague, Norman Taylor will have more. He is Mr. MIPIM after all.

Check in at Nice Airport has it's moments. My bag has suddenly gained 4.5 kilos since departing Luton on Monday yet now has less in it (business collateral now gone). I pay the 25 euros. It's not worth arguing about and I don't feel like putting on five more shirts and three pairs of trousers (extra shoes are obviously out of the question). Security is no problem except when they insist on searching my bag (anyway do I look like a terrorist? A question that shouldn't be answered me thinks).
Ex-delegates are strewn across the departures lounge. David Young (Hurley Palmer Flatt) seems deep in thought..or asleep. Our own Cullan Riley, with red streak in his hair, wanders around looking for that last possible deal making opportunity. Our Head of Services, Neil Cartwright, hobbles in, the strain of walking up and down the Croisette has taken it's toll...or he has fallen over...best not ask! Mike Burton, Faber Maunsell - Aecom joins me. He's had a very good MIPIM. There are no stragglers or hangers on this year. Everyone is here to for a good reason. Jim (the shoes) Totton, our own structural engineer turns up....he hasn't been to bed and says he has gained some amazing info and leads....and he got married again last night!

A coffee and croissant and I decide to call my MIPIM Blog a day. There is only so much you can do on a Blackberry....and anyway, I would like the new I-Pad......Capita Symonds.....Pretty please?

Until next year....What will we be doing and where will the industry be then?

Click here to read an interactive magazine about MIPIM 2011 from Estates Gazette.

MIPIM 2011 Update: Thursday

2011-03-11T11:13:00.003Z

Thursday

Andrew Pryke's pen-ultimate day at MIPIM 2011.
Another early start. However, the sun is shining and it's warm (a change from the recent cold and windy weather).

Breakfast on the beach hosted by Fira and Sidell Gibson. A glut of consultants have homed in on the coffee, orange juice and croissants. I catch up with Peter Stocks from Cundall....work in Libya has dried up. An old colleague from a contractor has an opportunity for me...I am dragged away before I can follow up.

Back to the London Pavilion. I bump into our exec board member Mark Norris and Damian Wild of Estates Gazette. He feels pleased he has just competed a live video link Q+A from London on the Ealing stand...it worked.
I take a wander around the Marina. A mulltitude of multi-million pound (Euro) yachts are moored. Each eblazened with corporate logos. Drinks bars ready for the next party. Arup seem to be missing from their usual position. I haven't seen anyone from Arup here this year.
I pass an American corporate yacht. A speaker bellows out "To us our handshake is our promise"...I move on swiftly!
I have a spare 30 minutes...I take a bet on how much corporate stand bling I can collect (yes, there is sometimes time for fun outside work here!). I return having done a world tour of cities and world companies....I can just about carry it all...rather juvenile I know.
I meet up with David Matthews from Building Magazine at the Capita Symonds stand. We go for a chat on the London Pavilion Terrace overlooking the beach. The weather now is very hot, the wind has died down and the week is taking it's toll. David is looking for a good story about Capita Symonds. The focus strays to major architectural practices that are in trouble (I wonder if he is going to going to print on this?). The next focus is companies left to be acquired by major companies. Again I am not drawn on this, but suggest he talks to our M.D. Jonathan Goring who arrived in Cannes today. I think that I have got away with not giving too much about Capita for now. I agree to meet up again in London. David is a great guy. It's a very pleasant and informative conversation and we part. I am beginning to think I am a bit of a media 'tart' having managed to talk to most magazines this MIPIM.

Back at the Capita Symonds stand the London Pavilion is quiet. A Russian gentleman asks me if I am from Capita Symonds. He states that he is a developer and would like me/ Capita Symonds to design a number of projects for him. It is suggested that a meeting with another developer we’re working with is arranged. It would appear that we have that illusive project(s) win that the guys back in the UK believe you should be getting at MIPIM!

It's a rush back to the hotel for another quick shower and change and out for an dinner invite with Wates. I have noticed this MIPIM a number of 'beggers' on the streets. I know that times are hard but I don't believe they are members of our industry. One chap sits beside a notice "Need petrol for my Porsche"...they get a better class of 'begger' in the South of France!
I meet my hosts, Christine Baltas and Doug Wotherspoon at Le Caveau. A very pleasant restaurant overlooking the Boule pitches (is that the term for them) and the Marina. It seems that the whole MIPIM Dutch contingent have booked the restaurant as well. They start to sing. This could be a very noisy evening. They calm down and I have yet another pleasant and informative evening with Wates and their guests. Discussions dwell on Libya and the Middle East...is this a lost opportunity or a new market opening? At midnight we all depart and head for Morrisons Bar. I duck out and head back to my hotel.
I have an early departure from Nice Airport in the morning…

MIPIM 2011 update: Wednesday

2011-03-10T10:32:00.000Z

Andrew Pryke's Wednesday at MIPIM 2011

It's a 7.30am start; a jog along La Croisette. I am joined by a throng of other fitness delegates and locals. Legs are beginning to ache from the previous days walking up and down La Croisette to the various events... I knew I should have brought 'sensible shoes' as my mother would say (and also Norman Taylor, Capita Symonds’ MIPIM veteran... how does he know so many people here?).

A quick shower and it's off to a breakfast meeting with a Hoare Lea contact at the Carlton Hotel. I notice a text from him timed at 4.36am this morning – “am I still up for breakfast?” I am, but wonder whether he will be! I answer yes and continue to the Carlton.

Breakfast is taken at a nearby restaurant (who would want to pay the Carlton Hotel rates - I’m told it cost 23 Euros for a G+T last night!?). Coffee and a croissant are taken at a leisurely pace. A review of potential business reveals possibilities in the higher education market (and anyone reading this, hands off!)

Back at the London Pavilion, our own Mark Norris talks on Funding Development. A decent size crowd gathers, people taking notes, all attempting to unlock that edge on their opposition for that vital lead, that crucial piece of information that will enable targets to be met. Roger Madelin of Argent apparently spoke yesterday on ‘Sex and the Kings Cross Project’ ...driving the sex trade out... not encouraging it! Oh...and the only drugs you can get there now can be found at Boots!

Another dash to co-host a Capita Symonds lunch at La Plage Royale, a restaurant in a marquee on the beach. A popular spot for lunch it would seem. Aecom (inc Davis Langdon), Turner + Townsend. Our guests are set up for a heavy review of the market - Kier, Interserve, Midas and Morgan Sindall plus Jones Lang LaSalle and King Sturge. Our Willmott Dixon guest is missing...the restaurant won't let him in! A slight confusion over names and it’s all thankfully sorted.

Back to the London Pavilion for my stint at our stand. A vast crowd had gathered - obviously my popularity is growing...but no, Peter Rees is about to give his talk on the future of the City. Peter Murray is interviewing. A throng of architectural notoriety await Peter's close-to-the-edge commentary. They are not disappointed.

A simple opening question on whether there is a burden as Chief Planner in the City...Yes I am responsible for 4,000 years of urban planning and architecture in the City...only 2,000 have occurred so far though ....If you had similar powers as in France to cut mass boulevards through London what would you do...well if the French were not so good at signing surrender treatise they could have had a great City like London (always good to insult your host nation I say).....Umm, I would move the Dome of St. Pauls to Milton Keynes, actually no, they have one already and two might be viewed as a bit rude.....Peter moves on....the City is full of surprises, is there any thing that surprises you? Well my apartment overlooks south, from the City over the Thames, when I wake up every morning open the curtains, I see an enormous erection...the crowd (looked shocked)...yes it's the Shard getting higher and higher! What five architects do you most admire? Ken Shuttleworth and Terry Farrell look up.... Wren, Inigo Jones, Soane, Hawksmoor. ...oh and that great Welshman Frank Lloyd Wright (his mother was Welsh - Peter is Welsh and like to promote the Welsh) Peter has dodged the question. What do you think of Chipperfield's new Project on the South Bank...Oh you mean the 'Mini-Shard'? ....yes....well, he could have improved it by coming to talk to myself (Peter Rees) rather than just submitting it straight for planning!

I get back to what I am here for, manning our stand. I notice Rob Knight from Davis Langdon – erm, I mean Aecom. I ask him how things are going since 'the takeover' (MIPIM 2010’s worst kept secret). He highlights a vast number of positives... he’s not going to be drawn into a good story for my blog.

My stint over at the stand, I head back to my hotel, shower and change and am out to host a Capita Symonds dinner at Comme Chez Soi, a restaurant frequented at past MIPIMs. Madam Sophie greets me as soon as I enter. You know she is in charge...I am told to go to my table and sit. I go straight to my table and sit (I didn't know that my mother and old school teacher, wrapped into one person, was here!). Martin Kelly, Capita Symonds’ Head of Land Planning is here already, sitting as told by Madam Sophie. Our guests arrive - a good mix of developers, contractors, and architects.

My phone rings (it's Elizabeth from Building Design - "can we meet up to discuss your latest work?"). I take the opportunity to invite her immediately onto our table. She obliges. I am primed and ready to promote Capita Symonds and our work....a fascinating conversation ends with deciding that the UK is the best country to live in and that many of our guests enjoy cycling (I had promoted Capita Symonds cycle networking week in Mallorca in June - a must for any cyclist whatever their ability)...the evening ends with everyone primed for their next appointment / meeting... I hadn't discussed Capita Symonds' architectural projects...doh!

My phone rings. I take the call outside. On returning everyone has left! It's 12.30am and I decide to go to the Carlton Hotel...but on the way I decide to call it a night. A bit of a lightweight I know… it's been a long day.

Mark Norris' Wednesday at MIPIM 2011

Discussion in the morning with a major UK commercial bank – sounds as though the dam holding back all those distressed property assets is beginning to burst.

We're sharing the London Pavilion stand with LB Ealing, GVA and Bouygues and discuss opportunities and challenges in regeneration. Will the lack (ie no appetite whatsoever) of property development lending lead to more innovative financial positions being taken by local authorities to make schemes work? I am sure we can help them!

Pat Kane from Ealing commented that they are not looking to spend money on consultants (the public sector cuts are clearly beginning to bite) but rather risk sharing, commercial property partners. Sounds like Capita Symonds!

Dinner at the Carlton with investment fund and international clients in the evening – a nice way to do business...not sure what happened to Mr Pryke!

MIPIM 2011 update: Tuesday

2011-03-09T09:35:00.004Z

Updates from Andrew Pryke and Mark Norris Executive Director, Real Estate, Capita Symonds at MIPIM.

Tuesday

Up early today for a breakfast meeting - with three beautiful ladies that would outshine anything the Krasnodar, Russia Pavilion could offer (their words once they knew I was doing this blog) - from Bespoke recruitment agents. Interesting to know that people are looking at opportunities to move ship now there is more optimism!

Dashed to the London Pavilion to man the Capita Symonds stand. Much cursing as no one knows how to fire up our beautiful Apple Mac computer. Panic over, networking commences in anger. I am sure you are meant to network with new contacts. However, we are visited by fellow consultants and agents. We do get introduced to a number of interested parties from Construction News and Project News (hope I didn't say anything I shouldn't have done - no doubt will be in the press before I get back if I did!).

My stint over, I explore the London Pavilion. Many London boroughs are exhibiting plus large masterplans for Earls Court, Kings Cross, etc. Croydon appears not to have such a major presence this year (have they reached their apsired vision - I'll attempt to find out). All the great and good have turned out - Terry Farrell, Ken Shuttleworth and Boris Johnson. I bump into Peter Rees, chief Planner for the City of London Corporation. He is always friendly and welcoming (have known him since my Number 1 Poultry days in the early 90's). He is looking forward to an entertaining presentation with Peter Finch tomorrow. He asks to be heckled to make it more lively. - make a note in my busy schedule to attend and heckle as requested.

Running late for lunch with Cyril Sweett at the Miramar Beach Restaurant. Get there, join in drinks to find it's not the right party (mine is on Thursday not Tuesday!). They offer for me to stay. I politely apologise having had a good chat to Peter Folwell of Plowman Craven regarding cycling. I get the host's business card, Martin Edwards partner and lawyer from Martineau. They are working in Germany, Birmingham and London. Many German businessmen. My German is not good and so I move on.

4.15pm the Cycle to Cannes arrive into Cannes (I did this two years ago, a great experience for those who like a casual bike ride). I am told that they had sunshine all the way down with no mishaps....surely not! Boris Johnson leads the peloton on a Boris Bike! Capita Symonds’ own John Rudge completes the ride and gets his photo with Boris (Boris didn't do the whole ride...and in a suit and tie? No, he joined a couple of miles back…)

Boris completes his photo shoot and rushes into the London Pavilion for his 5.00pm not before a obligatory photo with our own Frank Devoy in front of the Capita Symonds Stand. He is always happy to please.
Off to the Leeds Stand, down in the 'Bunker' for cocktails and more networking quickly followed by a chance meeting with Ray McAuley, BD Director of Morgan Sindall at Cafe Roma.

It's a quick change at the Hotel and then out for the first Capita Symonds Dinner event at the L'Auberge in the Old Town. An oversubscribed table made up of developers, agents and hotel operators. The atmosphere is lively and the conversation focusses on the day's events. My guest, James Buckley of Estates Gazette, is getting concerned that he may not have enough news for his editorial deadline. A quick run around the table and we don't appear to be able to (or unwilling to reveal) give him any help. Hotel development and office refurb is a key topic and the way forward for 2011 (I am not really going to reveal any gossip or 'dish the dirt' am I?).

It's 11.30am and we all walk to the Carlton Hotel to catch the end of the MIPIM 2011 launch party. It's finished and we've missed it. A few vocal Spanish delegates are singing....Barcelona 3 - Arsenal 1...oh well.

Capita Symonds’ Jim Totton arrives fresh from the Irish delegates night at the Morrisons Bar. He says he has just got married on the beach? Apparently it's a tradition at this event for a couple (previously unattached and unknown to each other) to get married and all the delegates to be the wedding guests. I assume he has not really got married…

Time to call it a night...there are still two official days to go!

Mark Norris, Executive Director, Real Estate, Capita Symonds

Tuesday at MIPIM - Many familiar faces at the London Pavilion – Capita Symonds stand right next to the London cityscape model giving us a great profile. Amazing how many fantastic buildings are coming out of the ground across London – and we are involved (or will be) in quite a few of them.

Interviewed by EG TV who were looking for a Scottish Property Expert to comment on the market and development in Edinburgh. I am of course Scottish and do know a bit about property but probably know more about the London and International real estate markets at the moment than what’s happening back home! However a pre-interview briefing by Stuart Agnew in our Edinburgh office provided some great insight – and hopefully I got the message across! Oh and also got a word in about Edinburgh Council’s property services outsourcing – where we are down to the last two…

MIPIM 2011 update: Monday

2011-03-08T10:21:00.004Z

Capita Symonds' Andrew Pryke reports back from MIPIM 2011

An early 5.30am start from home on Monday commences my 2011 MIPIM. A 30 minute journey to Luton Airport in sub zero temperatures - am greeted with a crowded terminal full of familiar faces. Amongst the five or six Capita Symonds co-MiPIMiers, the Aecom engineers are amongst the many queues.

A 1 hour 50 minute flight to Nice sees a change in temperature and a bright sunny day.

More queues for the bus to Cannes reminds me that people don't queue here and it's every man and woman for himself to attempt to get that precious double seat and space for themselves. I get a call from David Matthews from Building magazine, he is flying in tonight and would like to meet up. I will try and get him on the number of lunches and dinners Capita Symonds is hosting. Fingers crossed, we are already over subscribed!

However the journey is quick and painless.

A quick check in at my hotel, and change and out for lunch at a Beach Bistro with my Capita Symonds colleagues. There is much calm before the storm, with the Croisette virtually empty. The locals enjoying a day amongst one of two weeks in the year when an event is not happening in Cannes.

Walking to Cafe Roma, the much frequented cafe/ bar opposite the conference centre, is quiet. Not the place it will be from tomorrow onward.

Work is going on in the conference centre. This will go on through the night to prepare Cannes for its busiest week of the year. It is rumoured that more champagne is drunk (to secure deals!) at MIPIM than at any other time. I believe that this is the myth of better times long time gone.

Registration is painless and after dealing with e-mails the evening beckons.

Cafe Roma is the central meeting place for the number of Capita Symonds architects, structural engineers, services and agents to meet. MIPIM is very much a place for chance meetings. Exquisite collisions with key industry leaders that could never happen back in the UK. People are more relaxed at MIPIM and that person you have been trying to meet for months suddenly has time to talk.

Today is no exception for chance meetings. I bump into two architects from my Stirling Wilford days, whom I haven't seen for about ten years - Chris Dyson and Iain Clavedetcher. Both with their own practices and still surviving.

Dinner is with Capita Symonds. A small restaurant in the old town. As the restaurant begins to fill up, there is much anticipation this year. The commercial market appears to be optimistic. All delegates appear to be going through their rehearsals for the oncoming event. Like Olympic athletes, they are limbering up and going through their last minute routines before the race for that crucial deal, the win that will make their 2011 season.

Returning to the hotel I am grabbed by Richard Payne with his Turner and Townsend colleagues who accuses me of stalking them! Very rich as everywhere I have been they seem to follow later! They offer a drink and a review of their campaign.

Things are looking good for the forthcoming week...

Capita Symonds at the 2010 Public Property Summit

2010-11-17T15:36:00.000Z

Video coverage of Capita Symonds at the Public Property Summit at the Business Design Centre, London on 01-02 November... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnDdZfYOo2I

commercial break

2010-10-15T14:49:00.001+01:00

Capita Symonds’ Director of Business Transformation Neil McLocklin looks at how local authorities can learn from the commercial property sector…

Local authorities are used to cutting costs. That is just as well. The imminent Comprehensive Spending Review will ratchet up the pressure on them to do so even further.

But savings are not the whole answer. The government must put more pressure on the public sector to raise money too. This thinking is the lifeblood of the private property industry, but there is little pressure on the public sector to generate income.

It will be hard for the government to change, but change it must: the public sector is missing too many opportunities. These range from the obvious, such as ensuring vacant property is let, to the more innovative.

In August, environment secretary Chris Huhne gave local authorities the option to sell energy through feed-in tariffs. It was a good move, but this was just one possible area to address. The government should send a stronger message to the public sector that it is OK to be commercial.

Some forward-thinking local authorities, such as Lewisham and Southampton, have wisely taken minority stakes in their shopping centres, and will benefit from this income stream as it grows. But this is passive investment.

The diversity of assets within local authorities is immense, and this is part of the problem. Town halls and civic chambers are being rented out by some authorities for weddings and events, but the commercial promotion and marketing of these venues is often poor, so these fantastic assets are under-used.

Car parks and park-and-ride schemes may be operationally well managed, but there should also be kiosks to sell customers newspapers and coffee. Any good private sector property manager would be thinking along these lines.

Towns and cities attract events such as festivals, exhibitions and shows. But there is no proactive asset management that maximises revenue opportunities that surround these events. In the south, authorities should be considering the potential value for photo-voltaic cells on school roofs and landfill sites. Markets in streets and squares are often administered by local authorities, but in a passive way.

Of course, income generation has to be balanced with political and economic desires to stimulate the local economy – that and the all-too-common letter to the leader of the council from a local business, complaining about its audacity in increasing rent after five years.

We live in a new world. And politicians need to support their officers in taking a more commercial approach. If not, they miss opportunities to mitigate the pressure on public services.

Neil McLocklin is head of business transformation at Capita Symonds
Capita Symonds is a lead sponsor of Public Property Summit 2010.

Profiling the Risk

2010-10-07T14:04:00.000+01:00

Judith Hackitt CBE is Chair for the Health and Safety Executive. Judith recently gave a speech at the Joint Capita Symonds and ACE Safety Lecuture. An extract of the speech "Profiling the risk - determining what is important and what is not in project management and consulting" is reproduced below. The full speech is available to download.

First, some good news. Over the last decade, the UK Construction industry has undergone something of a cultural transformation. Fatal injury rates have been more than halved and major injury rates have improved by more than one third. I have had the pleasure of visiting some of the best examples of good practice in construction up and down the country in the last year or so not least the Olympic Park here in London and Media City in Salford. What is particularly striking about these examples of good practice is not just the safety performance which is achieved, but the way in which it has been achieved. Health and safety is part of the culture and it is led from the top. Workforce involvement and engagement at every level is clearly visible. Innovative practices are being implemented which reduce the inherent levels of risk. Motivation, commitment, collaboration in the supply chain; productivity is high and goes hand-in-hand with good health and safety practice – it’s a win-win, not a trade off.

But this particular success story does of course have a major sting in the tail. We now know what levels of performance can be achieved and what huge benefits can accrue when the culture change happens. So this makes the 41 deaths and more than 3,000 major injuries which occurred in the construction industry last year all the more tragic because we know that they need not have happened. The old ‘assumptions’ that construction was a hazardous industry and that little could be done to change the culture were completely wrong. Attitudes and performance can be changed but we have yet to achieve that across the whole of the industry.

Strong evidence is beginning to emerge of a two-tier industry developing in construction. There is a direct correlation between the high accident incidence rates on smaller sites and in particular on refurbishment work. It would be easy to rationalise this problem away by saying that smaller sites and refurbishment work are ‘different’. In some senses of course this is true. But in the current climate of flexible working, sub-contracting and sub-sub contracting this argument is increasingly difficult to maintain. Those who are today engaged in small scale non-commercial refurbishment projects may very soon find themselves working on large scale green field projects and vice-versa.

Here are just a few reasons why these types of mobility are not just possible but probable:

In the last 2-3 years construction has been hit by the worst recession in over 50 years – the industry now employs 375,000 fewer people than in 2008. As we emerge from recession, private sector investment in construction is going to create huge demand for skills.

We need look no further than the huge infrastructure investment required in the energy economy for evidence of this. Investment in the grid itself as well as massive investment in renewable energy technologies and nuclear – all of this will involve construction activity on a major scale.

At the same time, the huge squeeze on expenditure will have an opposite effect on major construction projects in the public sector in building new schools, hospitals and public amenities.

We have no way of knowing how these events will coincide but my point is that these forces will create movement of labour across the full spectrum of the sector as we enter economic upturn and growth.

But if the difference in performance between large scale projects and domestic refurbishment is telling, the correlation between inexperience in a job and risk of injury is even more compelling.

Just as we have moved on from the generic mindset that ‘construction is a dangerous industry’, we must stop ourselves from falling into the trap of believing that ‘refurbishment and small scale construction are different’. Or that there is anything inevitable about new and inexperienced workers being more ‘prone’ to injury.

What the evidence of the past tells us is that despite making significant progress; particularly on major high profile construction projects, refurbishment and the influx/flow of inexperienced recruits throughout the sector are two priority areas which we must now focus our attention on in construction to reach the next level of performance improvement and culture change. Furthermore, the performance improvement which has been achieved over the last decade clearly demonstrates not only what is possible but the very clear business benefits of doing it.

For more information on the Health and Safety services Capita Symonds offer visit our dedicated microsite.

wielding the axe

2010-09-10T15:04:00.000+01:00

Chris Marriott on how to make savings in local authority leisure and arts management

The recently announced budget cuts for local authorities have been brutal: savings of anything between 25% and 40% will need to be delivered over the next four years.

Councils have for some time been working out what they can cut, how much they can save, and when they can do it. All services will come under intense scrutiny and all are likely to suffer, some more acutely than others.

So, what is the future of ‘leisure and arts’, as a non-statutory service? Some councils may be tempted - as they are free to do at their discretion – to close their leisure centres and theatres and sack staff. Closing the doors is a very efficient way of making savings, but the problem is, whilst councils do not have to provide leisure and arts services at all, they do represent some of their most visible activities and are integral to the delivery of a far wider social and economic agenda.

So what is the alternative to closing facilities? Well, for those councils who are operating their facilities directly, the simple answer is to get someone else to do it for you, under contract. About 65% of leisure centres in England are still operated in-house, whereby the council takes responsibility for the delivery of the service and takes on all the risk. The other 35% is run by a mature stable of specialist private contractors (Leisure Connection, DC Leisure, Parkwood, SLM, Serco) and trusts (Fusion, Greenwich Leisure, Active Nation, SIV).

Leisure operators typically charge the council a management fee in return for taking on the financial risk of operating the facilities. Councils tend to find it cheaper to contract with a partner rather than deliver the service themselves. This is for a number of reasons, including more commercially astute management, better marketing and programming and faster decision making, leading to higher sales and lower costs. Also, trusts (although not private operators) benefit from business rate relief and tax benefits which they can pass on to the Council via a reduced management fee.

On the cost side, cynics might question whether these contractors will reduce the staffing base, but the truth is council employees are transferred across as part of the contract and their terms and conditions will be protected under the Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment (TUPE) Regulations. That’s not to say that over the course of a contract (which will typically be around 10 years) they will not be banking on making savings through improving the productivity of their workforce – savings that they will pass on to the council in the form of a lower management fee.

Given that staffing typically represents the single biggest cost (around 75% of the total) it warrants some consideration here. We have undertaken a number of reviews of local authority leisure operations over the past few years. Compared to trust and privately operated facilities staffing costs – almost without exception - proved to be significantly higher, due to a combination of better pay and higher numbers of staff. Going forward – and there is no avoiding it – councils are going to need to address this if they want to retain the scope of their service and continue operating in-house. Up until now it’s an issue they have been unwilling to tackle and they have not been under much pressure to sort it out. It’s been easier to just cut back on repairs and maintenance. That’s just not sustainable.

Regardless of how they make these savings, the fact is that external partners can substantially reduce the cost of the service to the council and can prove this through a demonstrable track record over a number of years.

One of the leading leisure contractors in the UK will tell you that it typically delivers a £200,000 saving to a Council for each leisure centre it takes on (reducing the net cost from £300,000 to £100,000). If they can all demonstrate that the quality of service can be improved and they take on the risk of operating the facility, this makes for a very attractive proposition.

Proponents of in-house delivery will argue that councils are generally more in tune with the needs of their community and are better at delivering sports and arts development programmes. This may well be true and there are some councils we know who do it extremely well. However, leisure officers will have a difficult job convincing their chiefs that this is important in the current climate and whether they are indeed any better at doing it than a third party contractor. And then they will have to make a convincing case to continue funding it.
Even if they can put forward a compelling case for retaining their sports and arts development service in-house, the business of managing the facility is a separate issue. Councils will find a very competitive market out there and contracts are likely to be keenly priced. The fact that all councils who currently manage their leisure and arts facilities in-house will be reviewing their options at the same time is positive; there will be opportunities for like-minded neighbouring councils to club together and jointly offer a larger portfolio of facilities to the market (e.g. Guildford and Woking). The bigger scale opportunities tend to be more aggressively pursued by operators and can help drive a keener price, whilst the councils can share the burden of the procurement costs.

So, in the face of swingeing cuts and competing budgetary priorities local authorities will need to demonstrate a sound business case for continuing to operate their services in-house. In fact, from now on, the onus is likely to be on why councils should not outsource their service.

Chris Marriott is Principal Consultant at Capita Symonds -

air tight regulations

2010-08-31T14:54:00.000+01:00

Yianni Spanos on what the recent revision to Part F of the Building Regulations will mean for the construction industry…

One of the challenges for achieving low energy buildings is to significantly improve their air tightness. Ventilation provisions within the new Building Regulations Part F have been increased for commercial buildings and dwellings with a recommended design air permeability tighter or equal to 5 m3/(h.m2) @50Pa.

Focusing on construction, achieving an air tightness target of 5 m3/(h.m2) is not a difficult task. For many years specifiers have demanded significantly better standards of air tightness in quality buildings to ensure that the occupants enjoy a satisfactory state of comfort and well-being. For air-conditioned buildings, and buildings which aim to be low energy, a maximum air permeability standard of 3 m3/(h.m2) has been set by many building owners and operators.

The major benefits of tighter air tightness standard are far better control, fewer staff complaints and improved energy efficiency. Equally, many clients in the retail sector have adopted lower air tightness standards than required by the Building Regulations, such as 2 m3/(h.m2) for new build projects. Even extensions to existing buildings can routinely achieve an air permeability target of 3 m3/(h.m2).

In this regard, under normal practices for mix-mode and air-conditioned buildings, superstores, museums and storage, mechanically ventilated dwellings, factory and warehouses, the air-tightness should is expected to be better than 2010 amendments. Special consideration should be given to the design of naturally ventilated dwellings, schools, hospitals and naturally ventilated offices, when best practice for those type of buildings can achieve 40% - 60% better air tightness level than the new Part F standards.

The path to routinely achieving air tightness targets is as follows:

Specify the air tightness target at a very early design stage;
Specify the air seal line at a very early stage. The inside surface of the structure is usually the airtight surface. The airtight surface should be brought inside rooms which will be ventilated to outside, such as boiler rooms, plant rooms, electrical switch rooms and lift shafts;
Require air sealing detail drawings from the architect or design and build contractor;
Consider specifying an air tightness consultant to review drawings;
Specify that air tightness testing be undertaken by an independent organisation which is a member of ATTMA, the testing organisation for the British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing;
In liaison with the testing organisation, specify all aspects of the air tightness contract process. Where necessary, specify penalty charges for failures not rectified in a reasonable time-scale;
Consider specifying an air tightness consultant to inspect the building during the construction process;
Clearly communicate the requirements to all design and construction parties.

What main contractors and subcontractors need to do to ensure they're not caught out by the changes?

Specialists should have an early involvement and provide support to the contractors in the design and project management process. In some cases, advanced solutions may be required to meet the targets of the 2010 amendments, especially for construction solutions for which it was challenging to pass the 2006 amendments. It also vital that the project management fully understands and ensure co-ordinations of different trades with aspects of the external façade, and especially when structural supports, or building services, pass through a ‘perforated’ façade and external building elements.

With regard to ventilation systems, reference should be made to a new ‘Domestic Ventilation Compliance Guide’ for guidance on installing, inspecting, testing and commissioning ventilation systems in dwellings. For mechanical ventilation systems installed in new dwellings, air flow rates shall be measured on site and a notice given to the Building Control Body. This shall apply to intermittently-used extract fans and cooker hoods, as well as continuously running systems. In addition, the owner shall be given sufficient information about the ventilation system and its maintenance requirements so that the ventilation system can be operated to provide adequate air flow. All fixed mechanical ventilation systems, where they can be tested and adjusted, shall be commissioned and a commissioning notice given to Building Control Body.

What impact the changes will have on finance and profits?

Under Part F 2010, the contractor should have a greater focus on ensuring that the design is delivered according to correct specifications by specialists. Over the last four years, air-tightness levels were in many cases 50%-60% better than Part F 2010 at no additional cost. It is expected therefore that changes will not have an impact on profits when the design follows a proven assessment routine.

Although these changes will not have a fundamental effect on finance, as well as setting out physical performance requirements performance specification for building envelopes, procurement will need to ensure that contractors have the calculation competences and accredited details needed to secure the required air-tightness levels. Projects with many on-site design variations could be subject to greater misalignment with the expected air tightness results and a greater risk to the contractor team charged with delivery.

Dr Yianni Spanos is Associate Director at Capita Symonds.

let's get down to earth...

2010-08-16T15:36:00.000+01:00

Malcolm Richards (right) on how rammed earth construction techniques can be used to reduce the energy used in constructing buildings...

Whilst initiatives such as photovoltaics and geothermal energy will help to deliver longer-term energy efficiency benefits, it is clear that they could be usefully supplemented in the more immediate future if the embodied energy in construction materials were reduced.

Research has shown that about ten percent of global CO2 emissions result from cement production, so cutting our dependency on this and other kiln-fired components, such as bricks, could make a big difference.

For some time now I’ve been studying the use of ‘rammed earth’ construction. Rammed earth is based on the compaction of graded soils into formwork to produce an unfired environmentally friendly building material. Rammed earth materials can be also sourced and produced locally, negating the haulage and storage impacts of kiln-fired masonry components and mortars.

Walls produced using rammed earth contain less than one twentieth of the embodied energy of traditional cavity walls. They are more easily returned to the ground when no longer required so the material is borrowed, not stolen. Earth walls have a high thermal mass and act as a heat sink, absorbing heat energy through the day and releasing it into the building as temperatures fall at night. Experiments have shown that rammed earth can actually reduce warm daytime temperatures by 4 or 5 degrees C - equivalent to some cooling systems. At the same time earth buildings stay warmer in cold climates, with internal temperatures unlikely to fall below 140C when occasional external sub-zeros are experienced. Given that half the energy generated in Britain is used to heat or cool buildings, the potential to reduce energy consumption makes earthen buildings an important environmental initiative.

Earth walls control humidity levels within buildings by absorbing excess water vapour and releasing it back when the environment is drier. They also have good sound absorption properties and absorb volatile organic chemicals from the atmosphere, potentially eliminating sick building syndrome. In addition to the normal applications, rammed earth can also be useful in disaster areas as it can be rapidly built using indigenous materials and local labour that requires little training.

Earthen architecture is gaining strength in many parts of the world, including Europe, Australasia and the Americas while building codes for the material are also now being developed, including new seismic design regulations in New Zealand.

Rammed earth is a material that minimises energy input in the construction phase, makes an input into energy consumption and can be returned to the ground when no longer required. It is a material with a viable future and one that won’t (ahem) cost the earth.

Malcolm Richards is a Director of Structures at Capita Symonds.

Free to plan...?

2010-07-30T12:13:00.000+01:00

Christian Rogers, Director, Capita Symonds, looks at the government’s big idea of ‘Big Society’…

The ideas for devolving decision making to the local level, especially in terms of planning and housing, as well as the proposed rights for communities to take-on service delivery and increased local financial autonomy, could enable significant efficiencies as well as better quality, more locally relevant services. With the right support and approach, local communities could now be free to plan for all of their local needs as part of a single, joined-up local approach for council, education, housing and health services.

In conjunction with potential overhauls to local government finance, this could enable communities to make real decisions about their futures which can be backed up with the means to deliver - free of Whitehall control.

The spirit of these proposals is to be particularly welcomed for its recognition that lasting and sustainable change is more likely to occur if local people are in the driving seat and own it. Direct community involvement in the planning system could help make the move away from the historical position where people have only engaged in the planning system as objectors, and towards groups with the same determination and enthusiasm for positively planning their communities.

But to make it work, local authorities and their local communities will need new skills and resources to be able to engage this ‘legion of community grass roots capital’ and thus enable local government to play its critical role effectively in making the change happen.

Of course, there is a risk that, if not properly supported, it could lead to a return to the bad old days of local government being the whipping boy for failings at both the micro-local and macro-national level. Some might say that there is also a risk that there will be a balance shift towards smaller scale local regeneration projects and away from the kinds of larger scale brownfield developments that have been seen over the last ten years. This could adversely affect the drive to ‘close the gap’ on the supply of affordable housing which major developments like the Thames Gateway and sustainable urban extensions have been addressing. It may even lead to regeneration funding and control being diverted to more ‘politically popular’ projects.

There is also the need to carefully consider how to balance the potentially conflicting aims of greater direct community involvement and a more streamlined planning system as councils will be covering the cost of even more consultation and needing specialists to properly facilitate this engagement process. The need for specialist support for planning within local communities if the regional tier of planning is removed (i.e. moving from a national planning framework straight to a local council level service) again increases costs and the need for specialist support.

There may not be universal support for these new policies - and the RTPI has indicated it will resist them through negotiation with new ministers - so the danger is that we could end up with little more than smoke and mirrors and little real change.

Overall though, the greater freedom for areas to decide how they want public services to operate could be exciting and efficient, stripping out costly central supervision and local duplication. The separate streams could be drawn together in a model that allows local authorities to fulfil a strong community leadership role that includes coordinating a single plan for all local services developed in a cohesive way, focused on local needs and priorities, providing for not only the delivery of health and education services but also for the housing that the teachers and nurses will need. This would replace the current system where formal plans just implement government targets on housing and are often divorced from spending decisions on schools, GPs, hospitals etc.

Local Authorities would therefore be ‘free to plan’ because they would have both the financial autonomy and the planning autonomy: they would be free to focus on the local priorities that they understand best and to provide genuine community leadership that removes duplication and overhead, delivering better services at less cost.

Capita Symonds students complete BusinessWise

2010-07-23T11:20:00.000+01:00

42 students from Capita Symonds have successfully completed the company’s BusinessWise programme, achieving a Postgraduate Certificate in Business Performance Management from the University of Salford.

This is the first group of employees to complete the ground breaking business skills programme, one of the first programmes to be jointly designed and delivered by an employer and a university in the UK.
The knowledge and skills that the graduates have developed during the programme, will be essential now, more than more than ever before, to the continued success of the company...

Successful students attended the graduation ceremony at The Lowry Art and Entertainment Centre in Salford where Craig Kirk from Capita Symonds' Cumbria & North-East business also collected the award for Most Outstanding Student on BusinessWise from Capita Symonds Executive Director Dave Spencer.

Pictured: Craig Kirk, winner of the first ‘Most Outstanding Student Student’ Award for BusinessWise, with Capita Symonds project manager Ann Graves and Dr Ed Doran, University of Salford programme leader

Dave said: “We are delighted that BusinessWise has proved to be so successful. The knowledge and skills that the graduates have developed during the programme, will be essential now, more than more than ever before, to the continued success of the company. We are proud of the commitment that all the graduates have made to BusinessWise and in particular Craig should be congratulated on achieving the Most Outstanding Student award, which is a credit to the work he has put in over the last two years.”

Stuart Wells, Director of Management Development Programmes at the University of Salford, Salford Business School commented: “We are extremely delighted to see the first cohort graduate from this ground breaking programme. The programme is unique in that it is co-developed and co-delivered by Salford Business School and senior staff from Capita Symonds. It offers a substantial grounding in the theory relating to management disciplines combined with business specific skills. This has enabled students to combine learning in both the workplace and the class room. Special praise should go to Craig for the effort and determination he has put in over the course of the programme. He has excelled in his studies and the prize is recognition of his outstanding academic performance.”

23 students that commenced the second cohort of BusinessWise are now half-way through the programme and are on track to graduate in July 2011.

Find out more about BusinessWise.

How the stunning Goodwood Festival of Speed sculpture was made

2010-07-13T17:07:00.001+01:00

Capita Symonds’ Structures team provided structural engineering design for the spectacular central sculpture at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The innovative display – sponsored by Alfa Romeo to celebrate the company’s centenary – was designed especially for the event by renowned sculptor Gerry Judah. The structure’s design, which is reminiscent of the car giant’s Quadrifoglio badge and the red livery of its racing cars, features an Alfa Romeo P2 (a P2 won the inaugural Automobile World Championship in 1925) and a 2003 8C Competizione.

Click here to see how this amazing structure was designed and put together.

Property efficiency? This time it's for real

2010-07-08T09:25:00.001+01:00

Mark Norris, Executive Director, Capita Symonds comments on the Local Government Chronicle (LGC) / Capita Symonds survey on public sector estates rationalisation.

"The results of today’s LGC/Capita Symonds survey are fascinating. Although the progress is limited, there is clearly a serious drive from local authority chief executives to unlock the savings available from their property estates and services. More importantly, there is also a greater willingness to work with the private sector in developing new property solutions in innovative partnerships.

Our survey shows that the top three issues in terms of property are serious ones: that buildings are not suited to modern service delivery, they are costly to maintain and cannot meet sustainability targets.

Surprisingly, given the unprecedented level of public sector debt, more than half of respondents indicated that their estate remained largely unchanged from that analysed in the most recent Audit Commission report on local authority property in 2009.

There also appears to be a mismatch in the available resources for the rationalisation of property portfolios (approximately 70% of chiefs indicated that the required strategies, finance, and expertise exist in-house) and the progress made to date.

Nevertheless, the tightening of central government funding has undoubtedly brought the capital that is tied up in local authority assets into sharp relief. For example, 84% of respondents said estate rationalisation was vital, and all respondents were looking to find ways of reducing the operational cost of the estate.
But how can efficiencies be realised? Most chiefs indicated that the key lies in relocating out of redundant space and consolidating into modern and efficient property while introducing new ways of working (with potential savings of up to 40%). As a result, a willingness to ‘de-silo-ise’ historically separate organisations is increasing – 73% of local authority respondents indicated that public service convergence and co-location was on their immediate agenda.

The survey also reiterates that effective estates rationalisation using new delivery models is key – stand-alone sale and leaseback of assets by local authorities is not considered a viable solution under the current local government funding regime, whereas the release and sale of surplus nonoperational assets in combination with property services outsourcing certainly is.
Overall, it looks as though, after umpteen reports on public sector property efficiency, this time it’s for real."
This survey was carried out by LGC and was commissioned and sponsored by Capita Symonds. The report on the results was independently written by LGC and published on 08 July 2010. Visit the LGC website here.

Capita Symonds at Intelligent Sport UK Challenge

2010-06-11T11:46:00.000+01:00

Two teams from Capita Symonds will test mind, body and spirit to the limits in this year’s Intelligent Sport UK Challenge, a corporate challenge event that raises crucial funds for the NSPCC.

The competition - nicknamed the ‘Corporate Olympics’ - will see 100 UK companies battling it out over four days and three nights (16-20 June) in the mountainous regions of Aviemore in Scotland.

Capita Symonds is sending a mixed team as well as an all-male team, both of whom will be hoping to better last year’s results and break into the top 20.

The teams will not know the exact details of the challenge, which are kept top secret until the start, however they are likely to face tasks that involve cross-country mountain biking, trail running, kayaking, navigation and code breaking.

Team Captain Tom Davies said: “We will be up against some strong teams from the likes of Microsoft, Airbus and Lloyds Bank. However, we’re ready, willing and able to take on the rest of the UK teams and between our training programme and the fundraising, we’re being kept very busy. We’re aiming to raise £4,000 for the NSPCC, so your support would be very welcome – sponsor us at www.justgiving.com/capitasymonds2010."

NSPCC fundraiser Liz Silk said: “The efforts of the Capita Symonds teams will support the vital work of the NSPCC, which makes a massive difference to the lives of children.”

Capita Symonds Managing Director Jonathan Goring said: “I’m delighted to be part of a strong Capita Symonds entry into the event. Last year was a great success and we hope to do even better this year, both in terms of overall placing and fundraising for the NSPCC.”

Capita Symonds teams are drawn from across the UK and numerous disciplines: Tom Davies, Martin Weil (East Grinstead), Jonathan Goring, John Kinnear, Ruth Farrar, Russell Nunn, Stephen Charters (London), Alison McKerrow, Carys Holloway (Portishead), James Daplyn, Paul Ryan (Carlisle), Kyle Duckworth (Blackburn), Mark Saunders (Barrow), John Hughes (Manchester).

Glamorgan team at RedR Disaster Relief Challenge

2010-05-25T13:30:00.004+01:00

Staff from Capita Symonds’ Glamorgan office took part in the RedR Disaster Relief Challenge at Cuffley Camp Outdoor Centre in Hertfordshire recently.

The original concept of RedR was to create a register of carefully selected and trained engineers who could be called on at short notice to work with front-line relief agencies, either on secondment from their regular employer or as a full time aid relief worker. The charity, which started in the UK, has evolved into an international federation of RedRs that provide a host of specialist training and recruitment services for all the major aid agencies.

Pic: L-R Rhys Hellin, Kirsty Llewellyn, Steven Rusby and Matthew English.

The Disaster Relief Challenge is a unique and exciting 12 hour event where volunteers encounter some of the extreme situations faced by aid workers in the field. Money raised by the event is used to train, recruit and support relief workers in the UK and around the world, improving the quality and coordination of humanitarian responses to natural disaster and conflict.

The team of four - Steven Rusby, Kirsty Llewellyn, Matthew English and Rhys Hellin - experienced an exciting but challenging 12 hour event taking part in tests such as Orienteering, Emergency Scenarios, Obstacle Courses, Problem Solving and Time Trails.

The team, which came first in the Emergency Scenarios and Relay Assault Course sections, finished third out of 13 teams overall. Most importantly, the team successfully raised a grand total of £2000 towards the RedR Disaster Relief Challenge Fund.

Glamorgan team give Maesteg primary school garden a make-over

2010-05-24T15:51:00.002+01:00

Garth Primary School at Mission Road in Maesteg has a brand new outdoor stage and sensory garden thanks to green-fingered help from local Capita Symonds volunteers.

The outdoor stage will be used for outdoor plays and concerts over the summer while the garden includes a draft board, sandpit and flower beds with plants and herbs of different smells, textures and tastes.

Fifteen volunteers from Capita Symonds - and a volunteer from construction company Morgan Ashurst - worked with Business In The Community’s Jill Salter on the project.

Although the project was planned over several months, it was carried out over a hectic 12 hour period. Head teacher Julie Thomas, says: “We are all thrilled with the garden and the stage; all the hard work and effort that went into the preparation, planning and organisation was amazing. The results are fantastic.”

Kirsty Llewellyn, a transport graduate from Capita Symonds, was selected as the company’s Team Leader for the work – the first time she’s managed her own project and team.

Liane Sheppard, Director, Capita Symonds said: “We thought it was a good opportunity for a graduate to take on the team leader role. Kirsty has gained valuable experience in management of projects, working very hard behind the scenes with our design engineers on the outdoor stage and garden to ensure that everything was in place for the actual construction. All the Directors at our Glamorgan office took part in the project and enjoyed not having to make the decisions for a day!”

Capita Symonds Director Ian Walsh said: “We actively encourage staff to take part in local community projects. This project was particularly challenging within the timescale but the outcome is worthwhile as the children and school will benefit hugely. The staff also thoroughly enjoyed their involvement in the project.”

“We are always keen to invest as much time and energy into community projects as possible,” says Tom Davies Morgan Ashurst operations manager. “This was a fun challenge to get involved with and we’re thrilled the children will have such a fantastic place to let off some steam in between lessons.”

Special thanks goes to Alun Griffiths Contractors (Wales) Ltd who donated £250, Morgan Ashurst’s supply chain partners Jewsons and WT Burdens which donated materials including paving slabs, concrete and sand, and Costain which donated and delivered all the timber for the stage.

Capita Symonds triumphs at annual Capita Challenge event

2010-05-21T10:48:00.004+01:00

Capita Symonds yet again led the field at this year’s Capita Challenge, which took place at Catton Hall, Derbyshire on 08 May.

19 Capita Symonds teams were among 85 teams from across Capita Group Plc, business partners and clients that took part in a range of sponsored physical and mental challenges.

Capita Symonds’ ‘Sticky Bitty II’ (Tom Davies, James Daplyn, Richard Peers, Matt Price) came top of the heap – holding off the challenge of ‘NOW and the Temple of Plumstead’ (Damian Lineham, Michael Brand, John Kinnear, Simon Chittenden) in 3rd and ‘Sticky Bitty’ (Stephen Charters, Jonathan Goring, Russell Nunn, Stuart Ramsay) in 4th.

A fantastic £63,000 was raised by the Capita Challenge for Macmillan Cancer Support, which will go towards the £1 million Capita has pledged to raise during its three year partnership with the charity.

Shopping Centres team up for World Cup charity boost

2010-05-06T15:27:00.002+01:00

Ten shopping centres managed by NB Real Estate - part of Capita Symonds - are joining forces to host a series of fun and creative World Cup themed events on behalf of the testicular cancer charity Everyman.

The events, which will be taking place throughout June and July, combine a host of different activities including a ‘Man Crèche’ and 5-a-side football tournament at the Kingdom Centre in Glenrothes; a charity ball evening in Rochdale; and ‘World Cup Widows’ indulgence packages at The Light in Leeds.

As well as increasing awareness for such an important cause, the objective of the Everyman campaign is to raise vital funds for the Everyman Centre in Surrey, Europe’s first and only dedicated male cancer research centre.

The ten centres involved are: Abbeygate Centre (Nuneaton); The Academy (Aberdeen); Chantry Centre (Andover); The Kingdom Centre (Glenrothes); The Light (Leeds); Rochdale Exchange Shopping Centre (Rochdale); St Elli Shopping Centre (Llanelli); St Martins Walk (Dorking); White Lion Walk (Guildford); and Windsor Royal Shopping (Windsor).

NB Real Estates' Retail Marketing Manager Anna Bluman says: “The 2010 World Cup presents the retail sector with a huge opportunity to engage with its male customer base. Given the community focus of many of our shopping centres a core cluster will be working closely with the Everyman Charity to help the charity reach this market, hosting a month-long programme of marketing events that tie in with a World Cup theme to raise awareness of testicular cancer.”

Image: Standing (l-r): Lorenzo O'Reilly (Rochdale Exchange Shopping Centre, Rochdale), Jim Gordon (Divisional Director NB Real Estate), Brian Oakley (The Light, Leeds), John Macfarlane (Academy Shopping Centre, Aberdeen), Robert Winter (Kingdom Shopping Centre, Glenrothes). Sitting (l-r): Christopher Borton (Director Retail Management, NB Real Estate), Anna Bluman (Retail Marketing Manager, NB Real Estate).

Catherine volunteers on Osprey project

2010-03-22T09:16:00.000Z

Catherine Soper from our East Grinstead office will be volunteering for two weeks with the RSPB at its Osprey Project in North Wales.

The project involves working at the RSPB Visitor’s Centre in the Glaslyn Valley in Snowdonia, home to the only pair of Ospreys in Wales. The work will involve surveillance of the pair to prevent poaching of their eggs and to engage the public with the project, which aims to establish an Osprey population in Wales.

The Centre’s surveillance hide provides a unique view of the Ospreys' nest and enables visitors to gain a valuable insight into these magnificent birds as well as the workings of Europe's largest conservation charity.

To sponsor Catherine’s RSPB project please go to http://www.justgiving.com/catherinesoper

Jonathan Goring is done and dusty at Cannes

2010-03-18T16:50:00.004Z

Mayor of London Boris Johnson turned out to greet riders at the finish of the six day 1500km Cycle to Cannes charity challenge.

Jonathan Goring completed the race, raising money for the Over the Wall charity…

“We finally made it to Cannes, after 56 hours of cycling, 40,000 calories, 1500 km and 50 pee stops. An epic trip through beautiful countryside with a total of 12000m of painful ascents and some hair raising descents.

The arrival was spectacular as the whole Peleton rolled into town flanked by motorcycle out riders before being met by Boris Johnson.

We cycled down with some of the UK’s top clients and John Rudge and I enjoyed our first beer in Savilles tent!”

Make a donation to Jonathan's chosen charity - Over the Wall

Jonathan