Growing client appetite for investment at commercial building consultancy

Refurbishment projects and Technical Due Diligence instructions across all commercial sectors have dominated workload at commercial building, project and sustainability consultancy Jones Hargreaves in the year to date.

The consultancy firm, which is headquartered in Leeds and also has offices in Manchester, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow and London, has to date worked on refurbishment projects in excess of £100m during 2024, while advising on the acquisition and disposal of more than 15 million sq ft of commercial property nationwide.

This has culminated in a number of recent portfolio survey instructions.

Matthew Jones, founding partner, said: “A number of our core clients are realising the inherent value in investing in their existing stock as market sentiment is becoming more favourable.

“This can simply be to improve and maintain from a building fabric perspective but, increasingly, is aimed at improving energy performance and sustainability credentials to respond to occupier demand.

“Our involvement in transactions across a spectrum of commercial property portfolios has also risen substantially in recent months, which our Technical Due Diligence offering has been able to resource promptly and efficiently.”

Jones Hargreaves has taken on over 700 instructions in the first nine months of the 2024 calendar year which reflects a 20% rise compared to the same period in 2023; marking its strongest performance to date.

The business is set to secure a turnover of over £7m in the current financial year, while being on course to complete over 1,000 instructions by the end of December 2024.

Since the beginning of August, the firm has seen a significant uplift in technical due diligence instructions both on individual assets and in large portfolios, often with a focus on ESG and Sustainability credentials.

The business is this year marking its 15th anniversary having been established by experienced commercial property professionals Matt Jones and Peter Hargreaves in 2009.

Matt Williams joined the duo as partner very shortly afterwards in 2010, and by the close of 2015, the team headcount had reached double figures.

Jones Hargreaves will have a team of more than 40 people by the end of 2024.