Listed companies lift their game in tenant care

Listed property owners are increasingly recognising the benefits to be gained from working more closely with their tenants and attending to their needs, a study commissioned by the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA) shows.

The study, carried out for EPRA by real estate customer service specialists RealService, found that a more customer-focused approach to property management and more active engagement with tenants protects landlords’ rental income and results in better tenant retention. Data published by the top 50 listed property companies and REITs in Europe was used to measure customer focus levels at each of the companies studied.

The study found that some 43 of the 50 largest property companies (86%) have embraced the customer-focused approach to property ownership and management to some degree.

Significant progress has been achieved by 13 companies (26%), 12 (24%) have made material progress and a further 36% have begun to take their first steps in this direction. The remaining seven (14%) companies identify their primary focus as being on the investor.

Innovation has been led by companies in Scandinavia and the UK, but evidence of increased customer focus is growing across Europe. The degree of customer focus is unrelated to market capitalisation.

‘Listed companies are leading a mini-revolution in the world of commercial real estate, with the growth of a customer-focused approach to property management, embracing more active engagement with tenants, product innovation and flexibility of service,’ said EPRA director Gareth Lewis. ‘With this research, we have for the first time been able to identify and quantify the extent to which European listed property companies are focused on their customers’ needs and addressing what RealService calls the 3 R’s of Real Estate - Revenue, Retention and Reputation.’