Wellness at the Office – Australian Style
Australian companies are keen to offer their employees the best possible working environment. This is why property owners who want to rent out offices long-term and at favourable conditions need to equip their premises accordingly.
Landlords in Australia need to offer tenants more than just the office space they rent. Australians are generally fond of physical activity and often take advantage of the good weather to cycle or jog to the office. Workplaces are therefore expected to have comfortable shower and changing rooms as well as sufficient bicycle parking. Many landlords also offer associated services, such as ironing stations or bike repair and maintenance services.
Attracting talent with lounges and cafés
When it comes to the layout and design of the rented space, tenants increasingly value a pleasant atmosphere, which landlords can provide by offering lounge and break-out zones. To round things off, properties should also have an in-house bar or café in the foyer that serves a range of premium coffee specialities. For Australians, nothing beats a good coffee, at any time of the day. Faced with intense competition for the top talents, companies want to offer their employees a pleasant and attractive working environment. Landlords who are aware of this situation and contribute to the long-term wellbeing of the tenants by delivering the above benefits can count on long-term tenancy agreements.
Significantly higher rents after renovation
A good example is the “U60” building in Sydney, which is part of AFIAA’s real estate portfolio. With the aim of repositioning the property, AFIAA invested heavily in the building’s conversion to ensure that the needs of potential tenants would be met. Thanks to this approach, a number of long-term tenancy agreements were concluded at significantly higher rents even before the renovation and conversion work had begun.
Along with health and wellness facilities, which are locally referred to as “end-of-trip facilities”, a new foyer with a café was installed as well as faster lifts, a roof terrace in a cosy lounge look and energy-efficient building services technology. Having garnered 5 NABERS stars (local sustainability scale which awards a maximum of 6 stars), the building also has an excellent sustainability rating.
In the end, the AUD 40 million (approx. CHF 26 million) that were invested in the renovation work have brought a double return. The market value of the “U60” building has gone up substantially and is set to generate stable current income for the approx. 60 Swiss pension funds which own the property.
“U60” building in Sydney after renovation
