Christchurch Three Years On: Bayleys sets up new service division

Bayleys Property Services is expanding in Christchurch, thanks to the quickening pace of the rebuild.

It says its new suite of business services delivers a “one stop professional services shop” for clients with commercial and industrial properties, either as investors or owner/occupiers.

Bayleys Property Services manages about 450 properties worth $1.2 billion around New Zealand for owners. Bayleys Canterbury commercial manager Pete Whalan says the expansion was spurred by the rising pace of commercial property construction in and around the city.

“The business advisory services we will offer in Christchurch include lease management, operational compliance, maintenance and capital expenditure forecasts, tenant retention strategies as well as financial management services through a new management information systems,” Mr Whalan says. “Often a property developer or owner occupier’s main focus is getting their building up and running as quickly as possible, and future issues like property and asset management may be ignored. We can alleviate that lack of attention and allow owners to take a longer-term and more strategic view of their assets.”

Mr Whalan says the city’s corporate sector is now taking a broader view of working with property managers. “It’s about adding value to a client’s real estate asset, rather than just milking the rent.” 

“A good property and asset management firm, for example, will now look at creating and monitoring a building maintenance plan to ensure life expectancy is as long as possible.That should include regular maintenance schedules.

“We also offer consultancy services such as analysing insurance coverage, lease reviews using current market data, tenancy negotiations, and finding tenants.”

The new Bayleys Property Services division will be led by recently appointed manager Sam Carnahan who has returned after 10 years in Australia where he ran property and asset management service teams for government agencies and large private corporate entities such as Brookfields.

Mr Carnahan says he was drawn back to his native Canterbury by the lure of a rapidly growing economy underpinned by the city’s social and infrastructure rebuild.

Read: the rest of the Christchurch Three Years On feature stories here