Asset Management is the word on everyone’s lips, but what does it really mean to an investor?

By Brook Stotesbury, Head of Commercial Asset Management and Investment at Martin’s Properties

I hear the phrase asset management at least 10 times a day in the real estate market – mostly linked to ‘value add opportunities’ as investors strive for transactions that will pay them back in terms of a compressed yield in 3-5 years.

To different investors, however, asset management means different things: a change of covenant, some light capex, minor refurb or extension works, decarbonisation to name a few. Some investors will appoint a contractor to do the works, an adviser to tell them what to do and project manage it or negotiate on their behalf. Most will pay third parties in some format.

The real opportunity for asset management is being able to see the opportunities that others can’t before the deal has even gone through due diligence. In this market, that’s a stand-out point of difference.

Recognising the full potential of an asset is critical to making informed investment decisions. We have had hundreds of deal opportunities presented to us in the last two years and many of them have positive attributes. But crucially, we know what makes a deal special.

With an in-house project management team, development, management and commercial expertise, future gazing is not only possible, but essential, as is adaptability and agility and, when an opportunity is spotted, moving with speed is key.

In order to do this, it's important to have an asset-by-asset business plan, not just an overall AM strategy. Each individual acquisition will have a separate business plan with flexibility built in to adapt as the asset matures. It's also important to be flexible on hold periods and adjust business plans to optimise this, especially in such a changing market where often the only certainty is that we will experience some level of uncertainty along the way.

Whilst our focus has been on building the regional and development portfolios in recent years, we recently had the opportunity to acquire another asset for the Chelsea portfolio where we can add value to the vacant asset through a mixture of development, asset management and repositioning. This will deliver longer term value and secure income.

Of course it helps to have cash funding available. Debt is available but for the right opportunities only but it does looks like the UK commercial real estate lending market is beginning to recover after a rather challenging period.

In recent research by Bayes Business School, which gathered information from 80 banks, insurance lenders and debt funds, new loan volumes were up by 11% year on year by the end of 2024 with over £36bn lent and a real upsurge in the final quarter. No doubt lenders were buoyed by two interest rate cuts from the Bank of England and, with two subsequent cuts in February and May so far in 2025 these figures are certainly likely to improve. That said, the market has largely priced in two further cuts – most likely to be seen in August and November, finishing the year at 3.75%, but we may always be pleasantly surprised this month too. However, lending still requires solid relationships and track record as well as a robust proof of concept to underpin the transaction’s attributes. In this market, those opportunities are few and far between and having cash, private ownership and agile leadership provides another competitive advantage to move quickly for opportunities without the need to line up all relevant parties and go through various approval stages.

Asset management can take on various forms but having an in-house team who can decide what strategy is possible to adopt and seeing the hidden opportunity before even acquiring an asset, is the real secret weapon.

Debunking ESG Myths

By Samuel Warren, technologywithin

ESG frameworks are essential to long-term business success. For coworking brands, these efforts can go beyond simply reducing carbon footprints, creating inclusive communities, and ensuring ethical business practices. In fact, establishing solid ESG frameworks in coworking spaces can create sustainable, socially responsible, and financially resilient workspaces, communities, and local ecosystems. However, some common misconceptions surrounding ESG can deter businesses from embracing its principles – in this article, we’ve debunked some of those myths.

Myth #1: ESG is all about sustainability

With pressing net-zero targets influencing the commercial real estate sector, it’s no surprise that sustainability initiatives and climate change dominate public discourse. While environmental impact is an important component of the ESG framework, the social side shouldn’t be overlooked – in 2021, McKinsey found that companies with socially related shareholder proposals rose by 37% compared to 2020.

Social responsibility covers[1]  relationship management with employees, customers, and communities, across labour practices, workers’ rights, and DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives. As companies depend on people and communities, social impact matters as much as environmentally friendly practices.

In the coworking world, socially impact-driven initiatives could encompass the following:

●      Committing to more equitable access to opportunities for underrepresented communities by facilitating programmes, initiatives, and accelerators.

●      Partnering with local charities and volunteering the team’s time to help out.

●      Discounting event space hire for initiatives that bring social impact and value, such as local communities who run sessions for underrepresented groups.

●      Committing to an equitable recruitment process and hiring locally towards revitalising towns and neighbourhoods.

Myth #2: ESG efforts are too expensive

There is a common misconception that improving sustainability credentials in coworking spaces requires costly retrofits, such as installing expensive solar panels and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems.

While these upgrades can help reduce carbon emissions, there are other impactful ESG initiatives to start[2]  with that don’t come with a hefty price tag:

●      Replace lighting solutions in your workspace with less energy-intensive options, such as LEDs. 

●      Apply a circularity lens to your furniture supply chain – procure second-hand furniture or purchase vintage pieces, and donate used furniture and office equipment to charity partners or schools.

●      Replace harmful cleaning products with more natural solutions, keeping community well-being and health in mind.

●      Introduce plants into your coworking space to improve air quality.

●      Partner with a neighbourhood gym or yoga studio – introduce fitness and wellbeing programmes to your community and event schedule.

●      Reuse existing IT hardware where possible – at technologywithin, we support our clients’ environmental goals by offering device-agnostic services, enabling new clients to retain and reuse their existing network and WiFi hardware, significantly reducing unnecessary waste and their carbon footprint.

While smaller, incremental changes to your workspace may require a slight investment, you’ll be surprised how some solutions can work to reduce your outgoings. For instance, replacing energy-intensive lighting with LEDs can reduce your lighting costs by up to 80%. Equally, focussing on social-impact initiatives for your community will attract more customers to join your workspace.

Myth #3: ESG is just for big companies

Although more than 90% of S&P 500 companies report on ESG efforts, this framework isn’t exclusive to large corporations. Whether you operate a neighbourhood coworking space or a growing flexible workspace brand, businesses of all sizes can make a meaningful difference.

In 2022, flexible workspaces created 158% fewer emissions per occupier than leased or traditional offices. Coworking spaces are typically designed with communal kitchen facilities, shared appliances, and more efficient space utilisation which, by its nature, values community and collaboration. 

Beyond environmental benefits, smaller businesses can have a strong social impact at a grassroots level. For example, Oru Space in Dulwich sponsors a foodbank, hosting community cook-up events. Despite only managing two workspaces in South London, Oru creates a huge community impact, leading to greater profit.

Myth #4: ESG is only for my ESG Manager to deal with

Since the ESG framework was coined in 2005, many companies have taken action by creating a dedicated role to oversee their ESG efforts. A report published by KPMG explains that the role of an ESG manager can help centralise accountability, however, they must work closely with C-suite executives and business heads across different departments to carry out the company’s ESG agenda and gather input.  After all, real change is a collective effort.

Exemplifying how ESG isn’t just a one-person job, flexible workspace operator FORA established a sustainability committee to steer the long-term direction of its ESG strategy. The entire organisation contributes to impact – initiatives include volunteering to coach pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and running wellbeing events with a dedicated fitness partner. However, ultimate responsibility for ESG goals lies with the CEO and senior management team, as stated in its latest annual impact report, published in November 2024.

Myth #5: ESG requires complex technology

With ESG being a collective effort, it’s not just your team that can make a difference – technology plays a fundamental role too, gathering data to report and measure ESG impact. But with so many advanced tech solutions available for the coworking industry, the misconception here is that ESG reporting and management require complex technology. The truth is it doesn’t.

Coworking technology exists to make your operations run seamlessly. Implementing tools, such as our twiindata Nomad tool, contributes to the following ESG efforts[3] :

●      Track space usage to understand customer behaviour patterns. Switch off energy-intensive resources, like lighting and air conditioning, during quiet times, saving costs on utility bills and reducing impact on emissions.

●      Collect data on movement to optimise staffing, cleaning services, and maintenance schedules at your locations during peak hours, reducing overheads.

●      This data can also be used to curate your event programme for members, host events on days when most people are in the office, and contribute to social initiatives.

According to McKinsey, companies that carefully consider their processes to measure ESG efforts are better positioned to adapt and change. This all comes down to partnering with the right software provider to support your business goals, whether around ESG or other KPIs.

Ultimately, integrating ESG into your coworking operations places sustainability, social impact, and governance at the heart of your future-proofed workspace.

Sustainable spaces: ESG strategies for coworking success

We recently brought together leading voices from across the European coworking sector for a dynamic conversation on ESG—covering strategies, challenges, and practical advice. Now available on-demand, the session features insights and real-world case studies from experts at Clockwise, New Work, Design Offices, Avila Spaces, and Vertical Coworking. Plus, don’t miss the exclusive unveiling of results from the first-ever ESG in Flex Report—packed with takeaways to help you embed sustainability and resilience into your workspace strategy.

Why IT Security in Flexspaces Can’t Be an Afterthought

From technologywithin

IT security can feel like a constant headache. From Face ID and 2FA authentication to deciphering blurry traffic light photos to prove you’re human, the roadblocks never end. And who hasn’t groaned at the dreaded “change your expired password” reminder? As irritating as these measures are, they play a critical role in keeping us safe online.  Security may be annoying, but it is essential.

At technologywithin we know this challenge better than most. As creators of tech products, we are tasked with the delicate balancing act of delivering products that are both secure and user-friendly – two objectives that don’t always align.

In the flexible workspace industry the stakes are even higher. Our solutions don’t just serve building owners and operators, they directly impact their customers - end users who expect reliable and secure connectivity. As more corporate clients become part of the flex space ecosystem, questions around network and data security are becoming increasingly important.  These customers want assurance that their networks will be properly secured, segregated from others in the building and compliant with their own rigorous security policies and standards.

When security fails, trust crumbles. End users must be able to trust their operator, who, in turn, relies on their tech provider for security and reliability. A failure at any point in this chain can have severe consequences.

With this in mind, we’ve become concerned with the growing presence of flexspace tech products on the market that seem to prioritise convenience at the expense of security, leading to inadequate security standards. In this article we aim to help operators better understand the risks involved and make more informed choices when choosing a tech provider.

Building private, secure networks in Flexspaces

A key component of any flexspace tech system is the ability to move end users onto their own private network. This network is “ring-fenced” exclusively for the end user’s company, ensuring that their data and activity is completely isolated from other occupants in the building. While a second network for guests and visitors may exist, our focus here is on the secure networks for building occupiers.

A common feature of nearly all flexspace tech stacks is VLAN (virtual local area network) technology. VLANs have long been a trusted IT solution designed to separate networks running on common equipment.  Their reliability and security make them an ideal choice for flexspaces.

The key differentiator lies in how the tech product associates a particular end user device to the correct VLAN.  It is crucial that this is handled properly and securely, because if a device mistakenly ends up on the wrong VLAN, it could give unauthorised access to another end user’s network, posing a major security risk.

Why MAC Address Authentication falls short

Every IT device that connects to a network has a unique identifier known as a MAC address for each wired and wireless interface, similar to a fingerprint or a phone number.  Because each MAC address is unique, it may seem like a logical approach to use it to pre-register the device to a specific user in the building. 

Once registered, whenever the MAC address of the device appears on the network, the device is automatically assigned to the VLAN of that user’s company.  Seems simple and secure, right?

But here’s the problem: MAC addresses are alarmingly easy to spoof.

It is incredibly simple to change a device’s MAC addresses to match that of any other device.  No specialist equipment is necessary – this can be done in seconds on a Windows laptop, natively within Windows and without any additional software.

So, if you were to change your laptop’s MAC address to match that of another user’s device in the building and connect to the network,  you would be placed on that company’s private network. This would give instant access to the company’s shared network resources. This vulnerability puts entire networks – and the sensitive data within them – at risk.

To make things worse, MAC addresses are very easy to find.  Because they are essential for network communications, they are transmitted over a network in  unencrypted form. A malicious actor could a snapshot of the network traffic, an action called sniffing, and identify MAC addresses within seconds.

‘Sniffing’ can be done wirelessly, and again doesn’t require any specialist equipment – just a regular laptop and freely available security software will suffice.  Even more worrying, if there is a wireless signal outside the building, hackers wouldn’t even need physical access to the building to carry out this simple hack. At a recent conference, a quick scan on a free smartphone app revealed the MAC address of every device connected to the building’s wireless network.

The usability drawback of MAC authentication

MAC addresses have long been used by wifi providers to track users online, but with increasing public pressure for more privacy, both IOS and Android have introduced a feature called “MAC address randomisation”.  This feature, by default, hides a phone’s real MAC address when it connects to a network and sends a different one in its place, giving users a greater degree of privacy online.

This of course presents a challenge for  MAC address VLAN authentication unless users disable this privacy feature.  This undermines the simplicity of the method, as it requires users to adjust their device settings, creating a less seamless experience.

The Gold Standard for wireless VLAN authentication

At technologywithin we don’t cut corners. That’s why we don’t rely on MAC address as a primary authentication method.  Doing so would jeopardise the integrity of our system and erode the trust our customers place in us.

Instead we use Enterprise Encryption, which encrypts each user’s connection with a unique encryption key.  This is the gold standard for wireless encryption in Flex and ensures that wireless “sniffing” cannot decrypt other end user’s data.  VLAN allocation is handled securely using a radius server linked to a username and password.  At no point is the device’s MAC address involved in the process.

A trade-off worth taking

As mentioned earlier, security often comes with a trade-off. In the case of WPA2 Enterprise, depending on the device used, users may need to accept a certificate the first time they connect to the network. While this adds a couple of extra clicks, it’s a one-time setup.

Once set-up, users can enjoy seamless, secure access every time they enter the building. For customers using our Nomad roaming feature, this convenience extends across multiple locations. We feel this minor inconvenience is a trade-off worth taking.

In Summary

Choosing a tech provider for your flexspace is a long-term commitment, so it’s crucial to do your due diligence.

A full IT security audit should be a part of your evaluation process.  The example discussed here is just one of many security points to look out for, but it is an important one.  If your provider is using MAC address authentication, don’t hesitate to ask for more details and consider involving a third-party consultant to help you make your choices. 

Overlooking  security could come back to haunt you - whether it’s losing a major prospect who asks tough technical questions or facing the fallout of a significant security breach.

Security isn’t optional. It’s an essential component of any successful flexspace. Don’t take it for granted. 

WATER NEUTRALITY: A CHALLENGE OR AN OPPORTUNITY FOR DEVELOPERS?

In a recent roundtable discussion, Des Sudworth, of Kreston Reeves, joined Tarniah Thompson, Head of Facilities Management & Sustainability at SHW, and Peter Rainier from DMH Stallard Planning to address the growing impact of water neutrality on development.

The focus of the conversation was on whether water neutrality poses an obstacle or presents an opportunity for developers, landowners, asset managers, and local authorities.

While nutrient neutrality has already hindered residential development across many parts of the UK, the government’s drive to reduce water usage and achieve water neutrality remains relatively unnoticed. This initiative will significantly influence development, as seen in Sussex, where the experiences provide a glimpse of what others might face.

Despite the UK’s frequent rain, much of the country experiences water stress, raising concerns about the future availability of water. The Environment Agency has projected that by 2050, an additional 3,435 million litres of water will be required daily to meet public consumption needs.

Natural England’s Position Statement, issued in September 2021, mandates that all developments within the Sussex North Water Supply Zone (SNWSZ) achieve water neutrality. This affects areas such as Horsham, Crawley, parts of Chichester, and the South Downs National Park. Local authorities in these regions have appointed water neutrality officers to enforce this policy through the planning process.

Impact on Development

Water neutrality presents both challenges and opportunities for residential developers. High water usage sites like restaurants, hotels, and pubs offer potential for redevelopment. For instance, converting a pub into three or four homes with water-saving measures can achieve water neutrality. However, these small-scale projects do little to address the broader housing needs.

Larger developments face more significant hurdles. Developers must first assess the water usage of their proposed sites and implement substantial water-saving measures to reduce household water use from the typical 110 litres per person per day to just 70 or 80 litres. Even this may not suffice to meet the stringent requirements of water neutrality.

Landowners with independent water sources, such as underground aquifers, find themselves in a valuable position, with developers approaching them for water extraction and development opportunities.

Collaboration and Innovation

To navigate these challenges, developers are exploring collaborations with high water usage property asset owners, including social housing schemes, schools, healthcare providers, and industrial managers. By funding water-saving measures, developers can generate 'water credits' to offset their projects. This approach, however, requires a 30-year commitment to maintaining these water-saving measures.

Asset owners remain cautious about the long-term implications of these commitments. Questions about the impact on future expansions or the sale value of properties with water restrictions linger. The water credit scheme initiated by local authorities in West Sussex is not expected to be operational until late 2024.

Currently, partnering with social housing providers has been the most straightforward route for developers. Implementing water-saving measures across social housing schemes in exchange for housing allocations allows developers to bypass the need for water credits.

Political Implications

Water neutrality is poised to become a significant political issue in housing delivery. It underscores the urgent need for additional reservoir capacity, although realising this within a functioning planning regime could take decades. The political landscape's volatility may delay the necessary tough decisions, leaving landowners, developers, local planning authorities, and homebuyers to bear the brunt of water usage challenges.

While water neutrality introduces a new set of challenges for developers, it also offers innovative opportunities for those willing to adapt and collaborate. As the UK grapples with its water usage and the impending impacts of climate change, the balance between development and sustainability will be crucial in shaping the future of housing.

Covid-19 & Construction: A Surveyor’s non-exhaustive thoughts

by Tim Grierson, Head of Dilapidations, Delva Patman Redler

With the view to helping us all and to save you time, I’ve gathered the following information to help us all make informed decisions on live sites and want to share my findings here:

We must do what is best to help the UK’s at risk people by social distancing and following government guidelines for ‘people’, and ‘employees, employers and businesses’. Email updates from government can be obtained here.

Further to this, if sensible, and you are able, please do consider volunteering for the NHS or your local council.

If you are a Client: your Surveyor, Architect & Legal Team will collectively be able to advise you on what your best, case specific course of action is; practically & contractually. Some consultancy tasks can be accelerated now and benefit from the situation.

At present the majority of builders’ merchants are now closed and therefore the only course of action may be to pause works until the Government releases the next statement on COVID-19, in relation to social distancing, as builders are presently struggling or unable to get construction materials.

If your site/trades do have the materials they require, when deciding whether to shut a site, a construction site professional should as a minimum be considering the following guidance:

Construction Industry Council – CIC response to COVID-19 outbreak

• Key: What sites should remain open?

Construction Leadership Council – News

• Mandatory: Site Operating Procedures during Covid-19

RICS – RICS Response to Covid-19 (Coronavirus)

• Key/Mandatory: How to deal with coronavirus under NEC and JCT contracts | 9 April 2020 05:00 PM – 06:15 PM

Chartered Association of Building Engineers – COVID-19 – 25/03/20

Federation of Master Builders – Responding to Coronavirus (Covid-19)

CLC – The Specialist Property Law Regulator – Coronavirus: Resources and Information

BuildUK – Coronavirus Impact on Construction

Building – Coronavirus and Construction

I hope this information is helpful to you. If you have any queries, thoughts or tasks you need help with, please do not hesitate in contacting me or any other member of the Delva Patman Redler team.

Stay safe.

Property Lending in 2020

by Chris scott, Lending Director, Pluto Finance

As we come to the end of the first month of the new decade, in just a couple of days, Britain will no longer be a member of the European Union (EU).  While the threat of a no deal Brexit is still hovering, all be it at a distance, and no one can tell what 2021 Britain looks like, it does seem as though the Conservative majority has given the market a nudge in the right direction, with a flurry of properties being brought to market since the turn of the year.

Average asking prices have surged 2.3% since the election and mortgage approval rates in December were up 19.6% year on year. This is particularly encouraging considering house price growth ground to a 0.7% low in 2019, down from 3% in 2018. All of this points to a well-timed recovery heading into the traditionally busy spring market. It is therefore likely that we are in for an encouraging few months ahead, before another batch of uncertainty due to fall toward the end of the year. Should Boris and his team be able to share some early insights and provide some post Brexit certainty, the good times may well roll on.

Commercially, we have seen and expect to see more activity in the office, hotel and industrial sectors. With interest rates set to remain low, commercial and residential investments will remain attractive proposition for domestic and international investment. Save for retail, we expect to see increased activity in these sectors and the use of bridging finance is well placed to support it, particularly when it comes to acquisition or repositioning. Pluto offers bridging rates from 0.6% per month up to 70% Net LTV.

The development space is one we are particularly excited about coming into the year. All things considered, housing supply is still a major issue for the UK economy and one the government is well aware of. The rental demand/supply gap is also widening due to the impact of tax changes for portfolio landlords, leaving BTR and PRS operators an opportunity to thrive.  With proposed changes to the planning process and continued pressure on housing targets, there is undoubtedly still an opportunity for residential developers. However, due to land trading at a premium, cost of materials on the rise and a shortage of qualified labour, developers will have to ensure efficiency and deliverability is a key consideration. The construction industry in particular will also embark on a period of change. Enhancements in Proptech and the emergence of modern methods of construction (MMC), 3D printing and a data driven approach to delivery will start to revolutionise the space. We have a strong appetite to support experienced borrowers delivering schemes across England. Our products, priced from 3.95% above LIBOR, are market leading and we are currently funding the construction of over 2,000 homes.

Looking forward over 2020, it looks set to be an exciting and largely positive year. Whilst uncertainty will remain in part, what is certain is our appetite to lend across the development and bridging landscape. As a non-bank lender, our processes, decision making and customer service is a key differentiator in our space. This approach, coupled with a market leading product offering and ability to close complex transactions, will underpin the year ahead.

Increasing housing supply - Catch 22?

by Malcolm Frodsham, Real Estate Strategies 

Catch 22 , written by Joseph Heller and published in 1961, is often cited as one of the most significant novels of the twentieth century. The housing crisis is certainly one of the most significant problems today and my mind often drifts back to the novel when listening to politicians out-bidding each other with schemes to ‘solve’ the housing crisis. Housing policy epitomises the type of bureaucratic reasoning justifying actions in Catch 22 - the political imperative to avoid any housing policy that actually makes houses affordable!

The housing crisis is real, and solving it requires house prices to fall, either through massive new supply or a reduction in demand.   But there is a catch: politicians know that a fall in house prices will be unpopular with homeowners. Housing is the nation’s chosen store of wealth, so reducing housing costs equates to reducing the stock of wealth. So we have a Catch 22; action must be seen to be taken on the Housing Crisis, but on no account should this action result in lower house prices.

So politicians compete with each other on promises to build more ‘permanent dwellings’, but only ‘affordable’ ones, or in other words, homes that will not actually impact the prices of the rest of the housing stock.

Building any homes is of course tough and unpopular locally, so in order to have a policy to announce, the Government subsidises the buying of houses (Help to Buy). This has the benefit of actively supporting house prices and therefore perpetuating the crisis. This political wheeze would sit happily with any of the absurd notions in Heller’s classic novel.

An achievable solution to affordability, is to switch taxes away from income and instead tax housing wealth. The investment motive to own housing is reduced, encouraging occupiers of homes with more bedrooms than required to trade down to smaller houses (there is a an astonishing 1.8 rooms per person in Great Britain, which is a very peculiar housing shortage indeed).  This would boost housing supply and reduce prices.

Will this happen? Yes, under Labour’s ‘progressive property tax’. Will the electorate vote for such a tax, or is it Catch 22?

A Month's Worth of Rain in One Day?

Malcolm Frodsham, Real Estate Strategies

I’m not sure if it is my advancing years or having three teenage children, but some expressions cause me late night irritation. “A month’s worth of rain has fallen in one day” we are reverently told, but what is this statistic intended to imply? Has this amount of rain ever fallen in one day before or does this happen quite often?

Expressing rainfall, as with many other measures, with reference to an average is not necessarily helpful without further clarification. How often does the average monthly rainfall total fall in one day? What impact will this amount of rain have on the transport infrastructure?

Measuring portfolio risk is similarly subject to the tyranny of averages. The average vacancy period for a particular unit might be 6 months, but what is the likelihood of a longer vacancy period?

Are such events likely to be isolated or are similar units also likely to be affected? Understanding the vulnerability of portfolio income to such events is the key to risk management and measuring the empirical history is the key to estimating the risk. If you are interested in such a study please get in touch.

As with the weather, we may not be able to predict extreme events, but we can at least understand their likelihood and make the necessary preparations and contingencies.

NB: the portfolio affect is amply demonstrated by daily rainfall totals for the South east as a whole for which no single day’s rain has exceeded the monthly average since records began in 1931.

Does Twitter help SEO?

The answer is YES!

Research shows that up to 85% of users will click a company’s social media profile before clicking their website. From all the platforms we decided to focus, today, on Twitter. 

Let’s look at some of the statistics:

According to information available on the web, this channel boasts of 326M monthly active users; There are 500 million tweets sent each day and 6000 tweets every second.  The growing user commitment is a great opportunity for brands.

If numbers are anything to go by then, according to a Twitter survey, 54% of users reported that they had taken action after seeing a brand mentioned in Tweets (including visiting their website, searching for the brand, or retweeting content).

Let’s not forget the Google and Twitter partnership which makes many of the top tweets searchable. Neil Patel aptly points out that search engines use social signals from social media to rank your website. Likes, shares, and comments affect SEO in huge ways.

Here are a few ways you can start to take full advantage of the benefits of Twitter for SEO:

1. Have a dedicated strategy to increase your following

2. Add key words and key search phrases to your Twitter bio. Use these words periodically

3. Show appreciation for those who forward your Tweets. Use @mentions to reference people when they engage.

4. Retweet to help double your traffic

5. Redirect users to your website by inserting backlinks to your content

6. Engage with your audience

7. Include images, videos and Gifs in your posts. They help the tweets to stand out 

 At Flashbulb we have been using Twitter to drive results for our clients. Get in touch to know more.

People-centred workplaces are centre stage for war on talent

Attracting and retaining talent, as well as maintaining employee productivity is becoming a real concern for organisations, according to a survey carried out at the 12th Property Directors Forum, hosted by Avison Young.

Adopting more ‘flex space’ will be key in talent recruitment and retention, as will improving company’s employee feedback process and the inclusion of employees in decisions that influence how the workplace is run.

The survey, carried out by occupier property directors, identified a people-focused divide in workplaces, with 10% of respondents stating that their firm did not measure employee engagement at all and 57% only measuring employee engagement through a simple question in an annual HR survey. Only 32% of respondents were found to have a dedicated employee engagement tool. 29% of those surveyed have an employee advisor group and 14% are regularly asked to contribute ideas as part of a monthly review.

Jason Sibthorpe, Avison Young’s Principal and President, UK comments: “One of the striking takeaways from our latest Property Director’s Forum is the putting aside of technological advances that have been hot topics over the last couple of years. What employee satisfaction appears to boil down to is the simple things like employee engagement, offering clean facilities (nice loos!) and providing simple perks like tea and biscuits.

“In keeping with the employee engagement theme, the results of the survey suggest that employers need to invest in flexible and people-driven spaces to create more productive and appealing workplaces in order to retain talent,” Jason adds.

On attitudes towards the move to flexible working, the survey found:

• 57% agreed that flexible space is an appealing environment for employees, with 50% agreeing that flexible space makes attracting and retaining talent easier

• 39% agreed that flexible working improves employees’ mental well being

• 62% agreed that the use of flexible space in their real estate portfolio will increase in the next 5 years

Jason concludes: “With the majority of our respondents concerned about attracting and retaining talent, we need to go back to basics. As well as keeping abreast of the latest gadgets and timesaving methods, we shouldn’t forget the need for employees to feel appreciated. A nice workplace, flexibility and a bit of facetime goes a long way in boosting employee productivity.”

The next Property Directors Forum will be held at The Royal Society of Chemistry, Piccadilly, London on Thursday 27th June 2019.