A capital event can serve as a powerful tool for optimizing your portfolio
Need an M&A framework for your real estate portfolio?
Accelerate value realization with a cross-functional strategy
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Facilities Management
Optimize the operations and workplace performance of your new portfolio. Learn More -
Project Management
Seamlessly deliver projects at any stage to drive cost savings and efficiency outcomes. Learn More -
Portfolio & Lease Administration
Harness portfolio data to develop cost-effective, flexible strategies that align with your enterprise objectives. Learn More
Optimize your real estate strategy during times of business change
See our latest insights, tools, and strategies for delivering value during M&A
Optimizing your facilities operations and workplace performance
Need an M&A framework for your real estate portfolio?
Key activities
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Establish the new FM operating/service delivery model
With the combination of two organizations, the real estate and facilities team will need to determine their approach to day-to-day real estate operations. Technical services, smart buildings, sustainability, asset optimization, and workplace experience are all areas that need to be assessed and solutioned in the operating model. -
Determine the go-forward employee experience strategy and how it will support M&A change management
A critical component of facilities management is determining, managing, and engaging in employee culture. By providing common amenities, experiences, and technology across a newly merged portfolio, facilities teams can create unity and engagement among the new employee population. -
Workplace experience
Establishing new workplace experience standards and aligning the service delivery model to sustain it can have a significant impact on the level of comfort employees have in the new working environment. Amenities like food and beverage or IT connectivity can influence how employees perceive the level of support they’re receiving from their organization.
Best practices
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Visit sites soon and often
Not only does an on-site presence provide insights into layout, conditions, operations, and challenges with the space, but also helps build rapport and trust with the occupants. Establish a cadence for in-person meetings and site walks with a standing agenda to help drive dialogue and partnership. -
Document, document, document
From emergency response plans to CMMS workflows, and from event playbooks to vendor payment processes, there needs to be a review of existing operational materials and a consensus on what will be retained versus revised. -
Change starts at the top
When blending disparate employee cultures, there needs to be clear direction from leaders within both organizations. Communication on changes to site operations, amenities, and even seating should come from both the business unit and CRE.
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Explore pitfalls, due diligence questions and more in the M&A real estate strategy guide
Optimize your real estate strategy during times of business change
See our latest insights, tools, and strategies for delivering value during M&A
Seamlessly deliver projects and drive cost savings
Need an M&A framework for your real estate portfolio?
When considering Project Management as part of a business’ transaction, many will jump to signage, branding and other cosmetic needs to create a visually cohesive occupier experience. However, effective project management strategy integrates a much broader view. Whether decommissioning, reconfiguring or simply combining processes and suppliers, project management can drive significant cost savings and efficiency outcomes.
Best practices
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Have cost advisory engaged early to ensure the commitments being made are realistic
Business leaders often commit to financial outcomes they anticipate from M&A activity but failing to achieve these outcomes can damage credibility and shareholder confidence. Maintaining involvement from the cost advisory team will safeguard against these risks. -
Have a thorough project transition checklist to make sure nothing falls through the cracks
A checklist can be as simple as a list of questions for both works in progress and planned projects that cover all project-related activity.
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Have a timeline for when design standards need to apply and know how long the grace period is
Design standards can include branding, signage, workplace design elements and beyond. This can be a high-visibility, complex undertaking and teams can find themselves under pressure to quickly deliver on these projects due to expectations from business leaders.
Unlock more
Explore pitfalls, due diligence questions and more in the M&A real estate strategy guide
Optimize your real estate strategy during times of business change
See our latest insights, tools, and strategies for delivering value during M&A
Harness portfolio data to achieve deal outcomes
Need an M&A framework for your real estate portfolio?
Establishing a scalable system designed to stay current on both lease payments and critical lease dates is essential for success. Other lines of business should utilize lease administration tools to quickly shift from administrative activities to strategic implementation activities. Leases serve as a roadmap for the interaction between landlords and the new entity, and communication must be clear about roles and responsibilities in the new organization.
Key activities
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Unlock the data
The lease administration team will abstract critical information (dates, dollars, square footage, termination dates, etc.) from hundreds of leases to provide an accurate assessment of the portfolio. -
Quality assurance
While the initial data abstraction provides important portfolio intelligence, the quality assurance component is critical for mitigating risk. Major decisions are often made based on the information that’s captured and there can be a significant liability if there are errors. -
Reporting and summarizing the data
The team will then need to aggregate the raw data that’s been captured and roll it up into cohesive summary reporting. -
Identify the best and brightest minds to drive the strategy
The lease administration team will hand off their data to be interpreted to determine what the implications are for the disposition strategy, consolidations, or termination and renewal options.
Best practices
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HR alignment
Lease administration teams often begin tracking down information while a deal is still confidential, so involvement from HR is critical. -
Communication
Once the HR team is aligned, there should be rigor around communicating with key stakeholders and ensuring they know what their roles are. -
Have a clear sense of who owns the acquired company’s connection points
Headcount reductions are a difficult reality in M&A. As the lease administration team is gathering information, they need to ensure they’re not alerting employees that they’ve become redundant.
Unlock more
Explore pitfalls, due diligence questions and more in the M&A real estate strategy guide
Optimize your real estate strategy during times of business change
See our latest insights, tools, and strategies for delivering value during M&A
Realizing value in your real estate portfolio
CBRE understands that each client and each portfolio is unique, and we offer solutions that flex and span based on your organizational goals. Real estate can represent a significant cost and risk for businesses undergoing M&A activity. By accessing comprehensive advice early in the M&A process you can unlock opportunities from your real estate that will accelerate integration, deliver cost savings, mitigate accounting risks and realize the potential.
CBRE's tailored approach pre- and post-deal
CBRE's tailored approach pre- and post-deal
End-to-end solutions
Our global operating model is hard services-led, empowered by technology and able to leverage the best supplier partners. By delivering value through single-source accountability, streamlined operations and partnered purchasing, we reduce costs, enhance uptime and drive workplace experience for our clients.
Optimize your real estate strategy during times of business change
See our latest insights, tools, and strategies for delivering value during M&A
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