The Client Brief
Cashplus is one of the original challengers to banks and despite not yet being a bank, was the first to offer a pre-paid card and non-bank current account. Cashplus engaged with us in August 2018 as they were in the process of acquiring circa 8,000sqft of expansion space in their existing offices near to London Bridge. They had selected a fitout construction partner to carry out the occupational Category B fitout however, they engaged us to ensure they were receiving value for money and acknowledged they did not have the expertise to manage the process themselves.
Budget was a primary factor with the brief being to provide a modern functional space, which addressed their current problem of insufficient meeting space.
Our role included project management, employer’s agent and cost management duties.
Our Solution
Initially, we provided technical due diligence input, recommended the appointment of an independent mechanical & electrical engineer and arranged for validation of the mechanical installations on both their existing and new office spaces. Our recommendation for this course of action was based on the age of the building installations and some of the issues being reported. The findings of the validation exercise proved to be extremely beneficial to the client as we were able to request the landlord rectify defects with the base build system and negotiate limitation on our client’s obligations in their lease which ultimately saved them money.
Throughout the fitout, we worked alongside the client to guide them through the entire process from setting up design team meetings with the contractor, advising on the specification of the office to align with budget expectations, coordinating their internal IT team and recommending suitable legal advisors to assist with the lease, licence to alter and construction contract amendments. We prepared construction documentation, monitored site progress and dealt with all aspects at practical completion including snagging. We had extensive dialogue with the landlord team to arrange appropriate insurance of the tenant’s works, approvals and access to carry out the work.
Specific attention was paid to the incorporation of varied meetings facilities including enclosed meeting rooms, booth seating and stand-alone phone pods. The use of cost-effective furniture solutions to create meeting space reduced the amount of partitioning and services modifications required, which ultimately helped keep costs lower.
The Result
Cashplus expanded into their new offices in January 2019 and advised that the flexible meeting spaces were being used effectively. Based on a positive response from staff they subsequently consulted us on the reorganisation of their existing space to incorporate similar flexible meeting solutions.
We have built a strong relationship with our client, as evidenced by the positive testimonial received, and are pleased to continue to be acting as their trusted advisor on all property related matters.
