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Corporate occupiers strengthen place making initiative in London’s White City : The BBC’s and Imperial College’s role in adding value
Corporate Real Estate Journal,
8
(3),
235-252
(2019)
Abstract
This paper tells the story of how a major corporate took a more proactive and innovative approach to strategic portfolio planning in order to overcome some significant challenges. Based on extensive experience of place making while at the Walt Disney Company and fine-tuned while transforming the BBC estate, this story considers how this type of disruptive thinking could be added to the CRE team toolkit. It looks at how innovation can be harnessed to deliver significant value enhancement, occupational benefits and social value. Using unconventional and creative thinking, the BBC Workplace team developed a ‘Smart Value’ place making strategy that enabled them to partner with Imperial College London. This alliance has delivered significant benefits for both organisations in terms of portfolio optimisation, value creation and operational flexibility.
Keywords: innovation; place making; corporate real estate (CRE)
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Chris Kane is currently a non-executive director and founder of Six Ideas and in this role advises on 21st-century workspaces and place making. Previously in his career Chris was the BBC’s Head of Corporate Real Estate and was responsible for the development, financing and implementation of the BBC’s £2bn property strategy and estate transformation. Prior to joining the BBC, Chris was Vice-President of International Corporate Real Estate for the Walt Disney Company, where he managed Disney’s international portfolio. Having served on numerous boards including NHS Property Services, his current board role includes chairing a disruptive development company Osborne+Co — an occupier-focused proposition.
Adi Gaskell is an innovation writer and consultant who has worked with leading organisations from the private and public sectors, including Deloitte, DellEMC, GSK, Ministry of Defence, InnovateUK, Government Office for Science and National Health Service. Adi writes regularly on business, innovation and technology for Forbes and the BBC, as well as academic publications such as the LSE Business Review. He has also contributed authored and ghost-written content for companies such as Salesforce, Alcatel, BBVA, HCL Technologies, Adobe and T-Mobile, as well as white papers and journal articles. Adi has an academic background in computing and artificial intelligence, and studied innovation at the Tuck School of Business.
