Jones Lang LaSalle has won a contract to manage Telstra’s massive Australian property portfolio, comprising 2.5 million square metres over 14,000 properties.
This extraordinary contract sets a record for the largest (by area) corporate property services management arrangement in the Asia-Pacific. Under the terms of the agreement, Jones Lang LaSalle will provide Telstra with an integrated end-to-end real estate solution. Services to be provided include portfolio strategy, transactions, project management, facilities management, lease administration and sustainability services.
The diverse Telstra property portfolio has now been incorporated into a new management structure, under a co-located Telstra/Jones Lang LaSalle partnership team operating from Telstra’s offices throughout Australia.
The transition involved a complex logistical exercise that saw more than 6500 landlords contacted, financial management of 280,000 rental and other invoices changed over to a new payment system and more than 100 staff employed and trained in the management of the portfolio in the one-and-a-half month period that was allocated for the transition.
Jones Lang LaSalle’s Australian CEO Stephen Conry says a transition process of this magnitude would normally take anywhere upwards of three months, so to achieve this without disruption to Telstra’s business operations was a great result.
“Corporate property services management is a large component of the Australian commercial property sector and will get bigger,” he says. “There is increasing demand from major occupiers for end-to-end real estate solutions that drive greater efficiency and cost reduction.
“Our new partnership with Telstra is a milestone for our business in Australia and reinforces our strategy of focusing on growing our business.
Telstra’s property director Vito Chiodo says: “Working closely with Telstra, Jones Lang LaSalle completed the transition quickly and professionally. We now look forward to the next stage of our partnership where we aim to set a new standard for property services in the Australian corporate real estate market and add even greater value to Telstra’s business.
“We selected Jones Lang LaSalle because they are a global leader in corporate real estate services. Their ability to deliver global best practice into the Australian market will enable Telstra to optimise the performance of our large and complex real estate portfolio.”
Jones Lang LaSalle was selected after an intensive and competitive selection process.
John Forrest, chief executive officer of Corporate Solutions, Asia Pacific, agrees that the contract is highly significant for all parties involved.
“The contract sets a new benchmark for the rapidly growing corporate real estate market,” he says. “Telstra’s portfolio is the largest and most complex to come to market not only in Australia, but across the Asia-Pacific region.
“Partnering with Telstra not only cements our position as the leader in providing corporate real estate solutions in Australia, but also across the Asia-Pacific and globally.
As part of Jones Lang LaSalle’s commitment to driving change, Robert Van Bergen will lead the team of more than 70 professionals that will be co-located with Telstra. To take up his appointment Van Bergen is returning to Australia from Singapore after three years leading the Jones Lang LaSalle team servicing its relationship with Microsoft across the Asia-Pacific.
