6 December 2013
Cost control, risk management and disposals will be key features of the property market next year, according to the Property Directors Forum.
A survey by the group, which represents UK occupiers with combined revenues of more then £500 billion, found that property directors are building in more flexibility to their estate in response to a volatile macroeconomic climate.
However, growth is on the agenda too, according to the forum. In its survey, the top three drivers for innovation in property use were business growth, risk reduction and cash release.
Nick Cook, managing partner at NAIHaywards and facilitator of the Property Directors Forum, said that forward thinking occupiers were planning for an increasingly volatile market.
"Bearing in mind the slow GDP growth predicted for the next few years, businesses will also need to find innovative ways to create growth and profit, with property playing its part," he said.
Property directors will need to continue to focus on cost-cutting and minimising risk by understanding the most important data points, according to Cook.
"With property having such important implications for business flexibility, liquidity, risk profile and the capacity to enable profitable performance, it is time to make a compelling case for property directors to be much closer to board decisions and cognisant of their board's intent."