We have been providing estates advice and property management consultancy services to Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) since 2003.

Most recently (in April 2012), we were awarded a five year Property Management contract across the council’s portfolio.

Maintaining quality while reducing costs

The council is striving to drive down the operational costs of its portfolio, while providing a fully integrated and best value service. Throughout all of this work, HCC is looking to improve efficiency and consistency while maintaining quality across its estate.

Over the years we have assisted HCC in delivering more than £150m in capital receipts, we have reduced annual outgoings by £1m, and we have delivered £350,000 in efficiency savings.

Specialist knowledge and dedicated team

Our work for HCC requires a high level of specialist knowledge and a detailed understanding of the council’s needs. We have a dedicated team of 12 Property Managers with support from 15 surveyors, all based in our Hertfordshire office in St Albans. This is in addition to our specialist Public Sector Advisory Services team across the UK and Ireland.

The team identifies solutions to enhance service delivery, cost reduction initiatives and efficiency savings. Throughout our work for HCC we adopt a series of standardised processes to ensure greater efficiency across the board.

Extensive range of property services

Just some of the services we provide to HCC are:

Estate Management
Property inspections
Tenant Compliance
Lease Renewals
Rent Reviews
Budget Management
Dilapidations and Condition Surveys
Expert Witness
Transactional (disposals & acquisitions)
Advice & Valuations
Town planning

Cost savings provide funding for essential investment

Commenting on the work we do for HCC, David Lloyd - Cabinet Member for Resources & Economic Wellbeing at the council - said: “LSH’s services have proved key in assisting Hertfordshire to drive down the operational costs of our property portfolio in recent years.

“Their excellent specialist knowledge and proactive advice, coupled with a positive response to the challenging public sector financial climate, have helped us deliver cost efficient and innovative solutions. These have improved efficiency and accelerated the disposal of the council's surplus assets, providing funding for essential investment, such as additional school places.”