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BPT keeps occupancy high across countries and sectors

In spite of the current challenges in the European property markets, BPT has throughout 2011 been able to keep occupancy high. This is largely thanks to a strategy of in-house active property management orchestrated and executed by the local BPT teams. 

Diligent property management has been a key focus across the BPT portfolios, particularly in the past three years. In 2011 this focus led to more than 40.000 sqm.s being re-let. At the same time occupancy rates have climbed to above 90% in almost all markets compared to the same period last year. At the core of this success lies a pro-active strategy of strong client relations, tenant pipeline and a constant eye for rethinking and optimizing the current tenant mix.

"Reletting an office building where an anchor tenant has left is not just about finding another large replacement tenant," comments Indrek Hääl, Head of Group Asset Management, "it gives us the opportunity to rethink the entire floor planning of a building in order to find additional revenue streams".

The intensive local dialogue with current and potential tenants often leads to innovative solutions that optimizes building performance and keeps the tenants happy for years to come. The Property Managers in BPT all draw on several years of international experience in tenant relations and good internal knowledge sharing structures ensure that best practices are shared across borders between teams. 

Retail is a hands-on business
Especially the retail segment requires continuous property and tenant management because a shopping center must be actively managed and upgraded in order to keep customers coming back. Indrek Hääl explains:

 - "If you're not able to offer the customers a shopping environment they can relate to, they'll do their shopping elsewhere, especially in a market as competitive as the one we see now". He adds, "customers' expectations and preferences change and we have to be able to change with them in order to constantly offer the right mix between fast moving consumer goods, top quality brands, and attractive restaurants."

Increasing competition among tenants
- "While the lease negotiations in the crisis years of 2008-2010 were all about hanging on to tenants, we can now see that competition is picking up and tenants are competing for the most attractive locations in our shopping centres. We are once again seeing examples of competing retailers outbidding each other, which in some cases has resulted in a significant increase in the annual rental price per sqm", says Indrek Hääl.

For additional information on this release, please contact:

• Indrek Hääl, Head of Group Asset Management, click here to e-mail, +372 6 309 420
• Bettina Knudsen, Director of Investor Relations & Marketing, click here to e-mail,  +45 33 69 21 75