urbanbubble Consultancy Service Offering

urbanbubble consultancy Explore our offering

Proudly appointed by the Nation’s leading developers and investors, for the new wave of residential communities about to grace our cities.

ABOUT

Founded March 2008

Head office 7,000 sq. ft. office in Manchester

Locations Operating Build to Rent, Residential and Co-Living communities nationally

People Total of of 450 FTE (and growing)

Portfolio urbanbubble collectively cares for over 11,000 units and more than 85 communities (and growing) within residential blocks, BTR communities, and PRS schemes

Awards 30+ Prestigious Awards

Vision Enriching residential communities with expertise and passion, making our cities incredible placed to live

Mission We empower our people to deliver an unrivalled service, placing customers at the heart of everything we do

Values Professional, Hardworking, Innovative, Engaging, Effective and Passionate

We Launch Michael set up urbanbubble from his bedroom!

2008

Milestones

We hit a total of 10k homes and opened 11 communities in one year!

2018

2010

Our Firsts Our first ever office was set up!

2022/3

The Future Due to open or already in the process of opening 21 more communities!

OUR BUILD TO RENT & CO-LIVING OPERATIONS

There are no plans to slow our national growth with clients who are leading property investors in their own right.

PIPELINE COMMUNITIES COMING TO:

and Southampton.

CONSULTANCY TEAM

Louise Bangee, Director of BTR

Louise joined urbanbubble as Director of Build to Rent in February 2023 having spent most of her career in retail moving to PBSA and facilities management, before arriving in Build to rent. Louise’s career has given her a lot of relevant experience and skills that are all transferable and believes in building the business and people together at the same time.

Rachel Parry, Head of Commercial Services

Rachel has extrensive experience of multiple tenures of the residential sectors through her time in Social Housing, Private Rental Sector and Build to Rent. She has worked with developers to build sound financial operating strategies using economies of scale and her knowledge of the residential market to deliver an excellent resident experience.

George Ahye, Head of Co-Living

George joined urbanbubble as Head of Co-Living in February 2023 having spent the previous six years in Build-to-Rent operations. During this time, George mobilised and operated several developments totalling circa. 1400 homes, each with state-of-theart amenities. He also holds ARLA Level 3, IRPM Build-to Rent Level 4 and IOSH qualifications.

Samantha Richardson, Consultancy Lead

Sam has worked in the property industry for fourteen years and the BTR sector for over eight years managing multi-site portfolios for Get Living and Urbanbubble, Sam works alongside her client to understand their aspiration and brand to then develop and implement strong leasing and operational strategies.

Nick Jackson, Research & Insights Associate

Nick has a postgraduate degree un Urban Planning from the University of Manchester and years of experience in data analysis, town planning and urban research. He works to investigate the evolving BtR market in UK towns and cities, providing clients with the intelligence they need to successfully target their operations.

BTR MOBILISATION PILLARS

We are the largest leading operator of Institutional Property in BTR and Co-Living, serving England, Scotland and Wales with a substantial Leasehold and lettings portfolio in the North of England and London. We offer a holistic approach to property management, centred around 5 Pillars of our service delivery.

Research & Insights From 36 Months Pre - PC

Mobilisation 9 – 12 Months Pre – PC

Lease-up From 3 Months Pre - PC to 12 Months Post - PC

Stabilisation Up to 12 Months Post – PC

Operations Stabilisation through to Steady State and Onwards

PC

RESEARCH & CONSULTANCY MOBILISATION LEASE UP STABILISATION

RESEARCH & CONSULTANCY

Our first and most important step for any new Build to Rent community is to produce our City Report which is an analytical deep-dive into the area and people in which the community will be located.

We place a huge amount of importance on getting to know a place and its people before setting up a new community there. This helps us better embed our community within the local ecosystem. Our research gathers in-depth information on each city, its demographics, history, social infrastructure, local transport links, employment markets and what makes that city and its people tick.

The City Report informs the mobilisation process by providing a detailed run-down of the demographics, salary information, rental trends and competition analysis of the given area. It informs where the site sits in relation to the rest of the town/city.

Our City Reports help us inform the design of the scheme and include;

• Macro and micro market analysis focussing on demand, demographics, current and future supply (including timelines), supply target market, anticipated demand vs. current and future supply, sub-market performance (past and future)

• Review wellbeing provision for the community, local amenities, family map and transport links

• Demographic Research and Insights Review and data analysis of local age distribution, renters vs. owner occupation, education

• Employment Research Industry sectors, local salaries, employment growth, new companies relocating to the area, corporate leasing

• Market Activity Data and analysis of average rents, BTR rents, seasonal market activity

• Comparable Data Age, units and average size, amenities, operator/developer/ owner, target market, proximity to subject, rental levels, performance/occupancy

CONSULTANCY

urbanbubble has offered a consultancy service to clients for a number of years and has assisted clients with the design of buildings ( both pre and post- planning) and providing an outline of operational expenditure across a number of different areas of the residential business (PRS, PBSA, Build to Rent and more recently Co-Living).

The depth of knowledge across our business has enabled us to become a sought after commodity and a reliable source of help and advice to prospective owner and operators of residential buildings across the country. Our wealth of experience from design to operation has enabled us to compile robust strategies and output documents based on our learnings and strong relationships with our clients.

Click to explore our HomeViews awards

OUR FEES

We pride ourselves in providing solutions tailored to our clients’ needs so we can ensure that our clients receive the best quality service possible. Therefore our fees would be structured as below:

City Report informs the mobilisation process by providing a detailed run-down of the demographics, salary information, rental trends and competition analysis of the given area. It informs where the site sits in relation to the rest of the town/city.

Estimated Rental Values (ERV) and associated research and analysis of product demand in the market

• Provides a unit by unit assessment of rents with a base rent estimate based on current and projected rental market and providing overall Final Market Rent

• Identification and assessment of value adding premiums such as amenities, pet demand, parking and onsite team and an breakdown of these premiums

• Rental Growth Projections over a 10 year life span

• Comparable report outlining details of the comparable schemes to support the rental valuation assumed

• ERV Rationale to outline the approach and methodology

High level Financial Operating Model (OpEx)

• Financial model that maps the expected revenue, costs and net operating income from 5 months pre-PC to 10 years post PC

• Provides all costs related to the management of the scheme, property and residents, marketing activity and lease up costs plus a generic CAPEX allocation per annum

• Provides an approximation of Net Operating Income

• Undertake an in depth review of all floor plans, communal, amenity and living space design, M&E and soft service provisions and operating provisions as designed by the developer and design team

• Collate and document via a matrix, a baseline and aspirational view of operator and occupier requirements for the scheme, contrasting with what has been provisioned and identify gaps and issues, and suggest improvements, changes or support.

DESIGN

AND SPECIFICATION REPORT REVIEW

MANAGEMENT STRATEGY £4,500+VAT

• Staffing rota and outline coverage

• Outline key health and safety and compliance and how this will be carried out

• Outline access protocols

OPERATING

• Maintenance and operating schedule

• Compliance and Health and Safety Plan

• Outline procurement requirements

• Design of customer journey

• Site compliance for external parties

• Fire strategy requirements

• Servicing and statutory requirement plan

• Operating plan outlining how every element of the building, amenity space, facility space, communal space, M&E and apartments will be operated

• Completes the 4 stage approach to consulting showing how the building will be operated and occupied, revenue retuned, to what cost based on the final designs being analysed

Pre start Fees £700 per unit plus VAT – This would assume a pre start 4 months per resident ready date (expected 4 weeks post completion)

• Management Strategy & Operating Plan; Comprehensive strategy on how the building will be operated through the 3 key stages of mobilisation, lease up and stabilisation

• Staffing proposal and role description and key duties

• Support to inform brand and marketing

• Management of lead generation (lead generation and marketing costs not included)

• On site leasing

• Creation of final Opex and ERVs (estimated Rental values)

• Recruitment and training of site team

• Contract set up for PPM and compliance

• Set up and licences for Property and customer management system – Yardi

• Set up and management of Opex and Management Strategy

• Creation of all legal and customer facing documents – including ASTs

• Defect management

• Customer readiness

Ongoing management fees would be 1.25% of gross rent and 5% of net rent combined once site fully stabilised and based on Opex gross to net calculations. For Co-Living, it’s 1.25% and 4% +VAT. Fees would be payable from resident ready date and during stabilisation would be equal to the stabilised income figures –payable monthly.

MOBILISATION FEES £4,500+VAT

MOBILISATION

Our mobilisation phase is built up around the below milestones, which consist of their own sub-tasks. Below is a brief description of each milestone, where applicable tailor-made plans can be made and milestones added or removed.

PROCUREMENT

• Procurement of the right systems and infrastructure to operate the development as per client instruction

• Procurement of reliable, certified contract base that supports the clients service proposition

HEALTH & SAFETY

• Full compliance with residential H&S law checklist

• Robust, tried and tested compliance platform for reporting on H&S

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

• Accurate setup of PPM scheduling on our property management software

RECRUITMENT

• Provides a staffing proposal and role description and key duties

• Recruitment campaign for all agreed operational roles

• Recruitment of expansion of existing stakeholder teams like lettings or operations management

TRAINING

• Provides tailored training to all operational roles during the induction period

BANKING & FINANCE

• Financial model that maps the expected revenue, costs and net operating income from 12 months pre-PC to 10 years post PC

• Provides an approximation of Net Operating Income based on the Management Strategy and Operating Plan put forward

MARKETING

• Marketing strategy that goes hand in hand with the lettings strategy to optimise lease up periods and reduce voids

BUILDING READINESS

• Operating plan outlining how every element of the building, amenity space, facility space, communal space, M&E and apartments will be operated

CUSTOMER MOVE-IN’S

• Tailor-made customer journey mapping

We support the operational teams for up to 12 months post PC to ensure building compliance. We also support the team in gathering any outstanding administrative documentation so that they are fully equipped to run the building for our clients.

Financial Operating Model

Resident Service

Proposition & Management Strategy

Leasing Strategy

Set-Up Site Services and Contracts

Policies & Procedures

System Configuration

Recruitment

Finance & Banking

Building Handover

Asset Readiness

Customer Readiness

Defect Management

Stabilisation Operations Support

Portfolio Specific Mobilisation Plan

A SELECTION OF OUR LATEST BTR CASE STUDIES

LOCATION Manchester

CLIENT Legal & General

LAUNCH 2019

UNITS 350 1 bed (72) / 2 bed (234) / 3 bed (40) / 4 bed (4)

HOMEVIEWS REVIEW

Ranked 3rd out of 26 in Manchester and received the following ratings out of 5:

• 4.63 for Facilities

• 4.74 for Design

• 4.68 for Location

• 4.42 for Value

• 4.66 for Management

LOCATION Salford, Manchester

CLIENT Legal & General

LAUNCH 2017/18

UNITS 424

Phase 1-2: 1 bed (98) / 2 bed (81) / 3 bed (20)

Phase 3: 1 bed (98) / 2 bed (81) / 3 bed (20)

HOMEVIEWS REVIEW

Ranked 2nd out of 26 in Manchester and received the following ratings out of 5:

• 4.72 for Facilities

• 4.56 for Design

• 4.63 for Location

• 4.26 for Value

• 4.72 for Management

LOCATION Birmingham

CLIENT Legal & General

LAUNCH 2019

UNITS 220

1 bed (131) / 2 bed (88)

HOMEVIEWS REVIEW

Ranked 2nd out of 27 in Birmingham and received the following ratings out of 5:

• 4.86 for Facilities

• 4.76 for Design

• 4.84 for Location

• 4.57 for Value

• 4.78 for Management

HomeViews Review

BLACKHORSE MILLS

The Whitmore Collection

LOCATION Walthamstow

CLIENT Legal & General

LAUNCH 2019

UNITS 479

Studio (37) / 1 bed (228) / 2 bed (158) / 3 bed (56)

HOMEVIEWS REVIEW

Ranked 1st out of 9 in Walthamstow and received the following ratings out of 5:

• 4.81 for Facilities

• 4.69 for Design

• 4.55 for Location

• 4.33 for Value

• 4.33 for Management

HomeViews Review

At urbanbubble, we pride ourselves on our top quality Customer Service and the passion and care for what we do. Our definition of Customers, does not just mean the residents, in our homes but also our clients, contractors and all stakeholders.

We believe that our customers come first and welcome feedback on how we can improve our services, keen to adapt to the needs of our customers and the market, to always deliver the best we can.