There is no easy answer to the question of whether to perform property services in-house or to outsource these crucial tasks. Now, with the creation of ATTX, the recently established property services joint venture between Atterbury and Excellerate Property Services (EPS), the new structure aims to add significant value to properties under management through a vertically integrated approach.
Call it an in-house outsourced model. In this novel approach property services expertise is housed within Atterbury but managed operationally by JV partner Excellerate, all within ATTX.
“The reason for the creation of ATTX revolves around vertical integration, bringing together two partners in a best-in-class property services business that benefits both partners, i.e. Atterbury and Excellerate,” explains managing director of Atterbury Asset Managers Lucille Louw.
According to Marna van der Walt, CEO of Excellerate Property Services, the company’s ideal model for effective and efficient delivery of property services to landlords of a certain size is to create joint ventures instead of them having to choose between only an outsourced or in-house relationship. “This in-housed outsourcing business structure allows integrated service delivery, while ensuring operational accountability for what matters most,” she says.
What makes the ATTX joint venture work so well is a clearly understood division of who is responsible for what. While ATTX occupies space in the Atterbury head office in close proximity to Atterbury’s asset managers and other services and Atterbury has a direct impact on strategy and business holistically, Excellerate is responsible for all operational activities of the new company.
The traditional defining line between asset manager, property manager and landlord disappears in a vertically integrated joint venture relationship that delivers operationally effective and strategically aligned property services efficiently. The experts thus do their jobs in-house, with the mindset of a third-party specialist supplier.
In addition, van der Walt says, vertical integration the Excellerate way can also enter the realm of facility management, such as the provision of security, cleaning and many other services.
Lucille Louw
Managing Director of Atterbury Asset Managers
Marna van der Walt
CEO of Excellerate Property Services
How “we and you” became “us”
It’s as if the Atterbury motto of a matter of association became real in practise through the creation of ATTX, says Louw. “For a landlord the advantage of third-party outsourced property services is that such arm’s length relationships can be managed as client / supplier associations. But being part of the JV gives you the opportunity to have that and the ability to look after the staff as your own.”
Van der Walt further explains that “for people in property services to perform at their best, they need to be managed carefully in a goal-driven, happy environment in order to ensure consistently excellent performance. With ATTX we have created a sound structure that allows the best of both worlds in practise. We love our association with Atterbury through ATTX.”
The comfortable ATTX head office occupies a brand-new section inside Atterbury’s well-appointed Die Klubhuis HQ in Hazelwood, Pretoria. In addition to the staff based within Atterbury’s office, ATTX delivers property services on-site with feet on the ground for the benefit of Atterbury’s many developments throughout South Africa.
“The creation of ATTX is only the start of an exciting new chapter in Atterbury’s story,” says Louw. “We have already mapped out a long-term plan to improve our overall property services delivery infrastructure with Excellerate as partner. This partnership also has the capability to operationally deliver property services to our international properties as well.”
In-housing a traditionally outsourced services business can be a tough task with many challenges, but in ATTX Atterbury and Excellerate have established a new association with all the characteristics of a game-changing endeavour. Walking around the ATTX office one thing is clear, as far as the experts working in the new company is concerned, it’s all systems go!
ATTX is empowered at a B-BBEE level 1.
