Expanding firms seek out eco-friendly spaces

Rob Bird. Photo / Supplied

The global financial crisis is no longer affecting leasing decision-makers, with businesses actively focused on expansion, securing quality new premises and improving business performance, says Rob Bird, national director of Occupier Services and Commercial Leasing for Colliers International.

Bird says the latest Colliers International Office Tenant Survey to be published in Colliers' office leasing publication, Moving Times, next week, shows 81 per cent of New Zealand decision-makers have said they believe the market has hit bottom and the effects of the global financial crisis are no longer affecting their plans for leasing.

"Business expansion is revealed by the survey as by far and away the biggest factor encouraging relocation or redesign of office premises, with attracting and retaining staff second," Bird says.

"New Zealand office tenants are in growth mode, with nearly a quarter of businesses indicating that they are planning to relocate in the next three years."

The office tenant survey gauges expectations of office tenants across New Zealand and Australia, assessing more than 350 decision-makers leasing commercial property space in the head office locations of Auckland, Wellington and the major Australian cities. Twenty-six per cent of respondents occupy space of more than 5000sq m.

Fifty-seven per cent of those surveyed said they believed the market was improving and that New Zealand was at the bottom of a downturn with office vacancies having peaked.

"In New Zealand, 43 per cent of respondents have either relocated over the past two years or plan to do so in the next three years," Bird says.

"Fifty-eight per cent of Kiwi businesses think there is strategic value in occupying a green building and would be prepared to pay more rent for this merit, while a majority of those who disagreed said they were not willing or able to pay a higher rent," says Bird.

He says the survey shows tenants should try to secure good leasing deals now, with the market is at its lowest point, while landlords need to work harder to encourage tenants into their properties.

Retaining staff and the changes in staff expectations are growing factors in the importance of building choice. "The survey shows that buildings play an important role in an organisation's staff acquisition and retention strategies, particularly for companies with more than 50 employees and those renting bigger premises over a longer period." Bird adds that modern facilities are increasingly expected with indoor air quality, natural light, cutting edge IT and close to public transport the most important categories.

"The survey showed that more than six in 10 organisations have implemented or intend to implement design initiatives that will create good environmental performance and health and well-being of staff, plus promote team development and collaboration," says Bird.

"What we're going to start seeing is a correction in workplace design with more dynamic office spaces reflecting people's differing needs - a more balanced equation of workstations, quiet rooms and public spaces."

The survey reveals 44 per cent of companies now have a process for evaluating the environmental performance of a building before deciding on occupation, although only 26 per cent said they now report their environmental performance publicly.

Operational cost savings and corporate social responsibility helped drive decisions to occupy a green building.