2021 was another challenging year where we couldn’t meet as much as we would have liked, however our industry responded and performed well again, demonstrating its quality and resilience.

We would like to thank all of our clients for their continuing faith in Napier & Blakeley to deliver our services on the opportunities you created.

Thank you to our suppliers, our friends in professional services, design, construction, agency, legal, accounting and management for collaborating with us and for spreading the word about our work and the value we bring.

The outlook for the year ahead is good and we look forward to contributing further to our shared economic, liveable, and sustainable future through the built environment and to helping clients to make informed decisions by managing cost – risk – return.

Without our people, none of this would have been possible and we want to thank each and every one of them for all their hard work and dedication over the year.  Especially for again, rising to the challenge of working with so many restrictions in a continually changing landscape – while also helping to keep everyone safe and well.

Instead of Christmas gifts, this year we’ve donated to Lifeline.  Lifeline is a non-profit organisation that provides free, 24-hour telephone and face to face online crisis support services throughout Australia.

Our last day of business for the year is Wednesday 22nd December and our first day back is Monday 10th January.

From everyone at Napier & Blakeley, we hope that you have a great festive season with your friends and families, and we look forward to a prosperous 2022 and to working together with you in the new year.

For 36 years Napier & Blakeley have been providing the following services to the property industry:

• Quantity Surveying
• Development Financiers’ Reporting
• Property Acquisition & Disposal Technical Due Diligence
• Property Development Due Diligence
• Capital Expenditure Forecasting
• Make Good Reporting
• Sustainable Property Solutions
• Development Monitoring
• Property Tax Depreciation

To discuss any of our services, please contact us at any of our following offices:

Napier & Blakeley’s expertise in asset and development advisory provides an integrated approach to achieve the best results for sustainable property outcomes.

Our quantity surveyors, building consultants and engineers can plan and price works associated with improving the ESG performance of a building.

Sustainable investments achieve long-term financial growth where risks and opportunities are identified and managed through environmental, social and corporate governance or ESG.

Technical Due Diligence is a perfect tool to facilitate good property transactions, to initiate asset management and   to achieve investment goals.

Continue reading …

There are a number of questions to be answered:

• What needs to be repaired, replaced or improved?
• What are the priorities?
• When does it need to be done?
• What could safely be deferred?
• How much will it cost?
• What will be the return?

Napier & Blakeley can help answer all of these questions and more. Our expertise extends beyond Services Engineers, Building Consultants and Quantity Surveyors who have current cost information to produce cost estimates and property tax depreciation reporting aligned to the commercial goals of your business and intentions for the property.

Spending money is not all bad news:

• Needs can be prioritised.
• Cash flow can be improved through capital allowances and tax depreciation.
• Valuations can be improved.

There are many drivers for capital expenditure and some of the considerations include:

• Age, condition and remaining useful life of the structure, fabric and the building services.
• Performance of plant and equipment such as lifts and air-conditioning.
• Obsolescence, attractiveness to tenants and market positioning.
• Highest and best use.
• Compliance with Building Code, Premises Standards, accessibility, WHS and Environmental and Hazardous Materials.
• Statutory Compliance of the Essential Safety Measures and Building Energy Efficiency Certificates (BEEC) and NABERS prior to leasing or sale.

Here are some recent project examples:

Our Transaction Advisory team is able to provide the following services for your projects:

• Land transaction technical due diligence
• Project / development monitoring
• Property transaction technical due diligence and benchmarking
• Property condition assessments
• Capital and maintenance expenditure forecasts
• Operational performance reviews and expenditure analysis
• Energy efficiency assessments
• Building improvement reports
• Environmental and hazardous materials assessments
• Regulatory compliance reports, BCA, OHS/WHS, ESM
• Town planning reports
• Land and lease surveys
• Indicative property depreciation schedules
• Replacement cost estimates
• Landlord and tenant dilapidations
• Make good assessments and negotiations

Please do not hesitate to call us to discuss your project.

NATIONAL / MELBOURNE
Rob Howells
o.  03 9915 6327
m. 0437 649 082
e.  rhowells@napierblakeley.com

SYDNEY
Simon Gould
o.  02 8113 7112
m. 0409 228 552
e.  sgould@napierblakeley.com

BRISBANE
Gavin Peach
o.  07 3815 0449
m. 0412 225 781
e.  gpeach@napierblakeley.com

PERTH
Graham Rigby
o.  08 9489 4895
m. 0419 847 998
e.  grigby@napierblakeley.com

Napier & Blakeley national director Rob Howells said the company’s building consultancy and technical due diligence business is increasing its global coverage.

“We are in our 30th year in business and we are seeing increasing demand for our trusted and independent consultancy services,”

He added that the success of local players coupled with a strong appetite from international investors for real estate has seen demand grow for independent professional advice.

As a result, Howells said Napier & Blakeley’s business has continued to grow year on year.

Napier & Blakeley is the market leader in Australia having provided technical due diligence for a large percentage of all international property investors coming into Australia.

In the last few years, Napier & Blakeley has been involved in 10’s of billions of dollars of transactions across Australia and offshore in Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Guam, Fiji, The Maldives and Sri Lanka.

Howells said the company is looking for the right people across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Singapore and are especially keen to find Perth and Singapore based consultants where our activity has increased significantly.

Howells said Napier & Blakeley has not set a specific recruitment target.

“So we are casting a wide net out there and we are interested in the right people.

“Candidates should possess all skills as set out in our adverts, but most importantly they will have a well-honed ability to understand our client’s objectives and the desire to adopt our approach,” Howells said.

For more information, please visit http://napierblakeley.info/careers-at-napier-blakeley/building-consultants-sydney-melbourne-brisbane-perth-singapore/

Displayed on Property Review Website
18 March 2015

Our people are supported by directors and colleagues who are leaders in their fields, who are happy to pass on their wisdom, to ensure all members of the group can continue to learn and develop.

Each Napier & Blakeley office provides a comfortable work environment located in a vibrant part of each CBD. 

Quarterly lunches and other social/sporting activities are enjoyed by all and help us get to know each other.

We always welcome interest from new people from graduate level to Senior Professionals and welcome expressions of interest from suitably qualified people. 

•  Chartered Building Surveyors 
•  Building Consultants 
•  Quantity Surveyors 
•  Project Managers 
•  Environmental Consultants 
•  Property Tax Quantity Surveyors
•  Employment Opportunities

If you think Napier & Blakeley may provide you with the place you would like to be, please forward us a copy of your CV or enquiry to recruitment@napierblakeley.com

Disruption, potential unplanned costs and conflict at the end of a lease due to make good obligations can sour what has been a solid commercial relationship between landlord and tenant. This can complicate the tenant’s move or the re-letting of the premises. The pressures of a poorly set up lease in terms of documentation, understanding of the consequences of the relevant clauses from a technical perspective and agreement as to the condition at occupation, or of future alterations, are self evident for both parties. 

Properly qualified building consultants should be actively utilised in such processes due to their knowledge and understanding of leasing and legal aspects combined with their expertise in building conditioning and rectification. The proactive stance is to bring all parties together prior to the signing of the lease to agree not only the terms of occupation, lease and physical condition but also to the process at lease expiry.  

If this process has not been followed, the building consultant plays a key role in interpreting the relevant lease clauses and evaluating the property’s condition so to effectively define the make good obligations, the cost and the best method of rectification.

Proactive Tenancy Management  

Good management, both at lease commencement and during the tenancy, will help significantly in dealing with make good issues at the end of the lease. When the condition of the property at the commencement of the lease is identified, a schedule of condition (both photographic and descriptive) should be undertaken and specifically attached to the lease in agreement with both parties.  

Almost all leases provide a mechanism for the landlord to control alterations to the premises by requiring the landlord to approve alterations before they are carried out and requiring reinstatement at the end of the term. The agreement process, whether by letter or by licence, should be fully recorded. This enables accurate determination of who did what and when and again simplifies the unpicking process at lease expiry. The key to resolving make good issues is to begin the process early. The landlord should provide a summary of their understanding of the make good requirements contained in the lease one year to six months prior to the expiry of the term depending upon the length of the lease and the size of the property. 

Conflict Resolution 

When both parties cannot agree to the extent of the repairs and make good, what is the process to reach settlement? 

Generally, this is initiated by the landlord, although tenants may take separate initial advice when making long-term strategic decisions in large occupancies. The landlord should appoint a consultant to prepare a schedule of dilapidations and wants of repair setting out: 

a. Which covenant of the lease has been breached for each item of disrepair of make good
b. Location and description for each breach, eg. damaged walls
c. The remedy or repair required
d. The costs and quantity

The schedule should also include a separate summary of financial claim, which may include fees and loss of rent and property charges borne by the landlord for the make good program. This is traditionally forwarded to the landlord’s solicitor for checking and serving to the tenant. The tenant responds either directly or through a consultant and negotiation proceeds to either settlement or to two financial positions. A settlement is reached on, or shortly after, the joint inspection 95% of the time. If the parties cannot agree, they may decide to proceed further through mediation and, if necessary, the courts. 

Key issues to be considered by the landlord: 

• Schedule the condition of the property on commencement
• Track and approve tenant works and retain details
• Review lease covenants and obtain advice as necessary
• Identify make good issue early (6-12 months prior to lease expiry)
• Gauge the tenant response and undertake a schedule of dilapidations  

Key issues to be considered by the tenant: 

• Schedule the condition of the property on commencement
• Retain details of alterations
• Respond to landlord advice
• Retain a consultant to review the landlords claims 

Napier & Blakeley’s national team of Chartered Building Surveyors, Building Consultants, Services Engineers and Cost Planners prepare cost effective, defensible reports to quantify the risks of ‘make good’ to maximise return on investment.

For further information and a copy of our Make Good Cycle data card, please contact any of the Transaction & Asset Advisory Consultants below.

If you would like information on any of our other Napier & Blakeley services please contact us at any of our offices.

Contacts

Transaction & Asset Advisory
Rob Howells – 03 9915 6300 – rhowells@napierblakeley.com
Alastair Walker – 02 9299 1899 – awalker@napierblakeley.com
Gavin Peach - 02 9299 1899 – gpeach@napierblakeley.com

Property Depreciation & Insurance
John Mathew – 03 9915 6300 – jmathew@napierblakeley.com
Peter Guerra – 02 9299 1899 – pguerra@napierblakeley.com
Peter Osborn – 02 9299 1899 – psoborn@napierblakeley.com
Paul Mazoletti – 07 3221 8255 – pmazoletti@napierblakeley.com

Sustainable Property Solutions
Peter Frith – 03 9915 6300 – pfrith@napierblakeley.com

Development Advisory & Quantity Surveying
Craig Smith – 03 9915 6300 – csmith@napierblakeley.com
Peter Hammond – 02 9299 1899 – phammond@napierblakeley.com
Paul Cosker – 07 3221 8255 – pcosker@napierblakeley.com

Napier & Blakeley have assessed, negotiated and managed ‘make good’ costs for many years, including benchmark data to help inform future strategy.

To manage large portfolios, property and lease profiles are reviewed and sampled to quickly determine ‘make good’ obligations and the cost for returning the property to the required condition.

Costs and square metre rates from the sample are risk adjusted against Napier & Blakeley’s independent bench mark data and applied to the leased portfolio.

Features and benefits :

• Quick and cost effective assessment
• Detailed samples to test assumptions
• Independent benchmark data from hundreds of actual ‘make good’ scenarios
• Confidence in forecasting budgets for physical works or negotiated cash settlements
• Meets accounting needs and compliance with financial reporting standards
• Costs can be provided at a tenancy, property, regional and portfolio level

See the pie charts for a breakdown of ‘make good’ costs across the sectors.

Napier & Blakeley’s national team of Chartered Building Surveyors, Building Consultants, Services Engineers and Cost Planners prepare cost effective, defensible reports to quantify the risks of ‘make good’ to maximise return on investment.

For further information and a copy of our Make Good Cycle data card, please contact any of the Transaction & Asset Advisory Consultants below.

If you would like information on any of our other Napier & Blakeley services please contact us at any of our offices.

Contacts

Transaction & Asset Advisory
Rob Howells – 03 9915 6300 – rhowells@napierblakeley.com
Alastair Walker – 02 9299 1899 - awalker@napierblakeley.com
Gavin Peach - 02 9299 1899 – gpeach@napierblakeley.com

Property Depreciation & Insurance
John Mathew – 03 9915 6300 – jmathew@napierblakeley.com
Peter Guerra – 02 9299 1899 – pguerra@napierblakeley.com
Peter Osborn – 02 9299 1899 – psoborn@napierblakeley.com
Paul Mazoletti – 07 3221 8255 – pmazoletti@napierblakeley.com

Sustainable Property Solutions
Peter Frith – 03 9915 6300 – pfrith@napierblakeley.com

Development Advisory & Quantity Surveying
Craig Smith – 03 9915 6300 – csmith@napierblakeley.com
Peter Hammond – 02 9299 1899 – phammond@napierblakeley.com
Paul Cosker – 07 3221 8255 – pcosker@napierblakeley.com