Small businesses could boost profits by up to 13% and save an average of £500 per employee, per year, by streamlining their property arrangements. That is the message behind a national campaign launched this month by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
In times of economic downturn most firms look for ways of cutting costs, whether it be in advertising spend or through restructuring. But the asset with the most money-saving potential is often right under their noses: property.
Property is big in business. Property accounts for 34% of total UK business assets and, typically, a company’s second biggest outgoing after staff. Yet it receives very little attention from company directors or small businessmen.
Getting the right property strategy not only boosts profits but helps businesses move in the direction they desire. Exploring sale and leaseback deals, eliminating unused space and challenging over-inflated rates bills are just a few of the ways companies can make their property work harder for their bottom line.
The RICS ‘Property in Business’ campaign aims to open business eyes to the potential locked up in bricks and mortar.
RICS director of marketing and communications Sean Tompkins said:
‘Small companies do some things very well. Some have the best product, some the best people, marketing strategies or salesmen, but all this counts for nothing if the wrong property choices are made. Signing a fifteen year lease can be likened to signing a pile of post-dated cheques. The importance of getting it right cannot be overstated.’
For more information please visit www.rics.org.uk.
(source: Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors)
