Property Solutions Newsletter

Andrew Morley
Business Development Director

We're fast approaching Christmas and I'm sure you're all looking forward to a well deserved break after what has been a busy 2007. Certainly the commercial service charge sector has seen immense change this year with the publication of the RICS Service Charge Code of Practice in April.

This has really raised the profile of the issues surrounding service charges and we have seen increased interest over the year from the property trade media on this subject. Please see our news section for examples of industry coverage on the issues, click here for further details.

This media interest is not likely to wane in 2008. Two MBA students from the London Business School have recently announced an industry wide study they are conducting, as part of their final year MBA study. Property Solutions (PSL) is supporting the premise of this study which will endeavour to

highlight the 'Options for Change' and we keenly await the publication of their findings due in April next year. PSL will be inviting the students to present their findings at our second industry event on service charges due to be held, once again, at the Institute of Directors in June next year. Further details on this to follow in the next newsletter, however, please do get in touch if you have any ideas or indeed would like to be involved in this event.

We also include in this issue, an update on PSL's Portfolio Services Manager, Richard Bacon's fundraising activities in advance of his trip to Cambodia in January, click here for further details.

As usual we welcome your feedback and opinion on our newsletters. All that remains is for me to say have a Happy Christmas and New Year.


It's been an impressive year for Property Solutions. To read the full article, click here All of our news is displayed on the website. To have a look at the news section click here


The Building Technical Services (BTS) division of PSL provides a complementary service to support and supplement the service charge consultancy skills offered by the company. To read the full article, click here


You may remember that in October's newsletter we wrote about Property Solutions (PSL) Portfolio Services Manager, Richard Bacon who is taking two weeks' annual leave in January 2008 to visit Cambodia with Mission Direct, a UK based Christian charity. To read the full article, click here

Two London Business School MBA students, Avanti Patel and Joysy John, are undertaking a ground breaking study into the UK's commercial service charge industry. The issue of commercial service charges can cause disputes between landlords and tenants.

The study entitled 'Options for Change', will look at what options are available to the industry to improve the management of buildings, reduce the incidence of disputes between landlord and tenant and improve value for money.

As part of the study, the students will be conducting a stakeholder analysis of leading commercial property landlords and owners, tenants, managing agents, trade bodies, educational establishments and industry advisors. They will be seeking the views of stakeholders and senior sector figures on the state of the industry in order to present an objective report to be published in April 2008.

To read the full article, click here

Service Charge Audits and Consultancy

PSL was asked to audit approximately 50 locations from a total portfolio of 600, where the management of the service charges were outsourced. Audit reports were prepared for each location and a consolidated report for the whole project. The audits revealed that there was a lack of documentation held which meant that the service charge costs could not be managed or controlled. Even where information was available there was a lack of evidence that costs were being challenged.

To read the full case study, click here

If you have any feedback please click here

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info@property-solutions.co.uk

SERVICE CHARGE CONSULTANCY • PORTFOLIO SERVICES • BUILDING CONSULTANCY • BUILDING TECHNICAL SERVICES

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