Editorial

Citation

Cooke, H. (2015), "Editorial", Journal of Corporate Real Estate, Vol. 17 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCRE-10-2015-0029

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Corporate Real Estate, Volume 17, Issue 4

In this Edition of the Journal of Corporate Real Estate we have four very diverse papers.

Firstly, a paper considers corporate real estate strategies for occupiers in Nigeria. Whilst the sample is slightly skewed to the public sector that does not detract from the importance of the primary research on what organisations are focussed on in a country that does not have a history of extensive research in to CRE. The paper does two things. It provides some interesting information on what occupiers CRE strategies are focussed on, plus it is a good base for researchers in other countries that are at a similar stage in the development of CRE research.

We then jump to Finland and a paper that looks at workplace concepts and their value, perceived or otherwise, for organisations. Organisations tend to develop their own concepts and ideas around workplace and this paper looks at six different organisations to determine what practical insights can be gleaned. The research identifies different drives ranging from cost based to business based strategies. In particular it highlights the benefits of employee engagement and the need to try and standardise the approach to quantifying “value”.

Much has been made of sustainability and property and how landlords/developers have to a greater or lesser extent made efforts to push forward their credentials both from the public relations standpoint and in creating green buildings. For many occupiers a green building is important from the perspective of their ethos, investors, staff and stakeholders. The third paper examines UK property companies to seek to ascertain whether they have followed through on what they have said. The paper raises questions that need to be explored further. There is yet to be a “balanced state” between landlords and occupiers on green buildings, what they comprise and the added value they bring. The UK property industry is not delivering sustainable solutions whether in new build, refurbishments, fit outs or dilapidations.

Finally we turn to risk and its perception amongst CRE practitioners. Using a combination of questionnaires and interviews coupled with a detailed literature review the authors have sought to categorise the multitude of risks in CRE and consider the consequences of risk. The extent of the list of potential risks alone is something that occupiers need to focus on.

We welcome papers on Corporate Real Estate and within that all things form the Occupier Perspective and that includes the following areas:

• CRE strategies;

• strategic alignment and added value of CRE;

• the role of CRE in the organisation;

• the inter-relationship between CRE and FM;

• portfolio management and flexibility;

• workplace and productivity;

• leasing and acquisitions;

• strategic planning;

• financial issues for CRE, including cost control and accounting standards;

• CRE management structures, activities and skills;

• outsourcing;

• surplus space;

• portfolio rationalization; and

• workplace design and its influences.

The target readership is for those that have an interest in the occupier and space, including practitioners, academics, finance people, HR, FM, advisors and others. It is a very broad subject and we are looking for papers that reflect that.

Howard Cooke - CORE Consulting, Maidenhead, UK