Property
Cashing in
Is the property market a viable one for schools? Morgan Allen shows how to maximise the potential of your property assets to provide best-in-class facilities
The cost of an independent education continues to be a much-debated topic for parents and schools alike. Schools inevitably are looking at different ways to ensure they keep their fees low and maintain their competitive edge with best in class facilities. Some schools have already suffered falling rolls and have had to look at a radical change in their operations or face closure, while others have sought to merge with other schools.
Amid the cracks
When budgets are squeezed, property maintenance is often pushed down the priority list. However, as Martin Freeman explains, spending a little on maintenance now can avoid a big bill for repairs later on
Problems such as leaking downpipes, roosting birds or hairline cracks to mortar joints may seem like minor niggles when it comes to the big picture of property maintenance. However, these small issues have the potential to cause significant damage that is costly to repair.
The permissive society
The planners are making life harder for any school hoping to embark on a new build. John Cahill vents his frustration at the flurry of new bureaucratic demands from the pen pushers at the town hall
At university, I shared a flat with a brilliant mathematician who went on to do a PhD at MIT. I considered the fact that he looked exactly like Omar Sharif and attracted women with electromagnetic power demonstrated that the good Lord was not always particularly fair when He came to handing out talent.
On the cheap
There have been many liquidations in the construction industry recently. As a result, it is lean, mean and hungry. John Cahill explains how this could be a good thing for school projects, but only in the short-term
In the last recession, when companies failed, there were no alternatives available: but there are now. You will never have a better time to build, because everything is much less expensive than it has been for a long time. It may be hard to believe, though, but many in the industry are suggesting that we are going to get inflation back into the sector and it might be serious. Therefore, the timing of your building project needs to be carefully thought through.
Climate controls
Will your school be able to absorb the costs from the new requirement for a return on sustainable investment in education of the Climate Change Act 2008? Sarah Daly outlines the likely impact on your utility budgets
There are two issues that are at the forefront of everyone’s mind at the moment: the credit crunch and sustainability. It is no surprise that the sustainability agenda is finally achieving credence at a time when the developed world has never felt more vulnerable to cost.
Keeping up with the Joneses
Despite cuts to building budgets, some refurbishment should be done, argues Robert Bruce, as independent schools face the challenge of keeping up with government-funded improvements in local maintained schools
One of the many newly emerging challenges to face independent schools is how best to balance the increasing need to compete with the level of high quality facilities introduced in local maintained schools, while reducing outgoings and maintaining fees at an affordable level.
Build or bust
Despite the appalling economy, many schools are undertaking building works. John Cahill urges those schools to work with their main contractor to ensure that the project does not hit the financial buffers mid-project
The UK is having a wake-up call to an economy based on debt – and the construction industry is in the forefront of that experience. Starting with big contractors, universally known as main contractors, it is always worth the expense of having your auditors visit the company’s offices and ask for a completely open book inspection of the company accounts. Giving them 24 hours’ notice of such an inspection concentrates the mind wonderfully. A performance bond for, say, 10 per cent of the contract value is useful, not necessarily for the ability to cash it in (to do that you have to persuade the banks to release the money), but to see the value of the quotation of the bond itself.
Design for learning
Offsite construction of modular buildings can help independent schools deliver world class education facilities more effectively. David Johnson looks at the latest advances
Adding new school buildings in these challenging economic times is no easy task. Construction cost, speed of delivery, potential interruptions to teaching and getting the right design to stand the test of time, are all key considerations.
On the move
Relocating to a 75-acre site in south-east Leicestershire was a significant milestone in one school’s 25-year history. Duncan Green describes how the project was conceived and, ultimately, how and why it succeeded
Leicester Grammar School is an independent, co-educational school for 1,250 pupils aged three to 18. Its new school complex was officially opened by the Queen on 4 December 2008.
Caveat emptor
As the credit crunch continues to affect certain areas of the economy more than others, notably the building sector, 2009 should be a buyer’s market. John Cahill, however, cautions against pushing too hard for lower prices
Independent schools remain a remarkably stable and sound investment from the point of view of the financial
marketplace, despite the current economic problems. Those schools that enjoy a more solid financial base may believe that now is a buyer’s market; and that they might be able to launch into a new building project at a huge discount. There are deals to be done and bank loans to be had at a good rate.
Quote me tender
Thinking of building this year? Choosing the right type of tender process can be crucial to achieving success, writes Ian Price
With the credit crunch already impacting on the budgets of many independent schools, it is important that a bursar of a school contemplating a building programme should be able to give informed advice to the board of governors on the type of tender process that will deliver best value.
Building blocks
Despite the current climate, some independent schools will continue to undertake building and refurbishment work. John Durtnell sets out the points a bursar should consider to get best value from building projects
Today’s parents expect facilities that their parents wouldn’t even have dreamt about and, as a result, independent schools have for many years been financing ambitious building projects worth millions of pounds in a bid to safeguard their future. Very often, it has become the bursar’s job to oversee these projects and to ensure that the school’s money is being spent effectively: so how best can you achieve these goals?
Ancient and modern
Historic and ancient listed buildings always create a favourable impression on parents, but can prove to be troublesome to schools when undergoing refurbishment or requiring a change of purpose, writes Rebecca Parry
Listing protects our national heritage and preserves buildings of special importance. Many independent schools enjoy historic and ancient buildings on their campus that are listed. Listed buildings are placed on statutory lists of buildings of “special architectural or historic interest” under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990.
Beware of the big bad wolf
When inviting tenders for building work, avoid companies new to the sector and big-name corporations that wouldn’t usually pitch independent schools for business. Stay with what you know, advises John Cahill
Childhood is full of fairy tales that contain thinly disguised warnings of life, such as Little Red Riding Hood. But probably the oldest is Virgil’s Aeneid, covering the siege of Troy when Laocön said something along the lines of: “Don’t trust that horse, it comes from the Trojans and when the Greeks bring you a gift, I get really worried!”
Energy bars
Measures to lower costs and reduce energy use in new construction as well as provide renewable sources are here to stay. John Cahill outlines the investment required against prospective future gains
The impact of the new measures will become apparent in the amount of research needed for planning permissions and to get your cost budgets properly calculated. Planning applications 20 years ago consisted of three or four documents; today there are 25 or more, and the cost of the entire enterprise is sizable.
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Procurement blues
The property sector has failed to resolve key strategic issues for large builds, making it difficult for those responsible for procurement. By John Cahill
It is an essential failure of human nature that we believe, at some stage in our lives, that we can get something for nothing. Or, at least, for a lot less than it ought to be. This is the logic behind the “50 per cent off” banners in the sales windows. But, 50 per cent off what? I always wonder.
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Assessments
What all school property managers should have at their fingertips.
This summary is by no means exhaustive, but will help you understand your property and its link to your operational success. It may also save you money when dealing with other business professionals. In particular, it will assist you whether you are considering a sale, taking on debt or facing a rent review.
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The best laid plans
New considerations for future planning proposals are currently being implemented by local councils. Nicholas Ide urges schools to review their estate plans immediately in consultation with their council.
It is important to consider now any future developments you may wish to make to your school estate.
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House of cards
Building project costs can spiral out of control unless you are aware of the rogue dangers that lurk at every stage of the process. John Cahill reveals his four golden rules to keep your plans on track.
When I was asked to write for this publication, it did not take me long to conclude that the editor was asking the wrong person. All funds, whether they are gained through hard-won accumulation of surplus or by straightforward borrowing, are precious to the independent school sector – and all I do is spend it. It was rather like asking an alcoholic what they would like to have from the off-licence.
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The chosen few
There is a perception that it is impossible to undertake most large builds without a project manager in situ. John Cahill examines the truth of this and asks whether they are vital, optional or just plain trouble.
A project manager can add value over and above the role that even the most organised architect will provide. The problem is finding the right one. In addition, if they really do add so much value, there may be one or two failings on your own team that ought to be addressed.
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Walk, don’t run
Few people understand how complex the process of getting building projects started really is. John Cahill lists his “four follies” of project management below and asks whether your school is guilty of any of them
Apart from the booze, a bursar’s annual new year’s resolution should be “never to agree to finish a project for the beginning of an academic year”. Like the booze, the resolution burns on the altar of perennial optimism, since the school has decided on a particular date for the opening of the new Dotheboys Hall Hilton, which has already been announced in the school magazine and probably has an appeal fund behind it.
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The green light
Construction projects always require forward planning and a wide consideration of variables; there is also the local authority to contend with. John Cahill reports on the new green points system for building projects
The Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), or at least the scoring from it, is now a statutory yardstick for government-funded construction, but it is creeping fast into the non-maintained sector. If you have not heard of it, let this article act as a clarion call to alert you.
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Bricks and mortar
Property – recently the darling of investment markets – has suffered a dramatic fall from favour. What has happened and what are the prospects? John Kelly reviews this important sector in the months ahead and beyond
To provide some perspective to recent events, we need to look back at the returns achieved by property over the recent past. The best source of this data is the IPD Annual Index, which covers 12,234 properties with an aggregate value of £184 billion – almost half of the domestic commercial property sector.
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