Client story

It pays to act early

Remodel and pay more rent, or move early and pay two rents? When trapped between a rock and a hard place, communications agency OSK brought in JLL at an early stage – and found the perfect office building at excellent terms.

Industry

Offices

Location

Cologne

Square Metres

approx. 3,700 m²

Spotlight

Tenant Representation

Thanks to JLL’s expertise and market knowledge, we managed to land our dream property in Cologne’s highly competitive office market.

Marc Wolter, Managing Director, Oliver Schrott Kommunikation GmbH

Communication works best when you’re near the person you want to talk to. But it wasn’t easy to stay close in the offices of Oliver Schrott Kommunikation (OSK) after several years of growth and multiple office expansions. 

To remodel the space was one option – but, remodelling would have been a long, involved process that would have greatly disrupted the agency’s day-to-day operations. OSK therefore began exploring the market and was already in negotiations to rent a different building by the time they commissioned JLL. The main disadvantage of this option is that it would require paying two rents, because the current lease still has a longer term. Unfortunately, alternatives were scarce since the agency wanted a modern work environment as well as excellent connections to public transit. To make matters worse, available office space was limited in Cologne since the vacancy rate was well below 3.0 %. It was a landlord’s market, and OSK seemed to be largely at the mercy of landlords’ whims

JLL’s goal was to achieve the best possible result for OSK while minimising its costs. The collaboration with senior management and the project team at OSK was extremely intensive and characterised by quick reactions, factors which proved advantageous when competing with other prospective tenants.

The JLL team swiftly evaluated the current rental offers – for OSK’s current space and the relocation option – and immediately joined the ongoing negotiations. To gain more bargaining leverage, we explored other relocation options and obtained other rental offers. Our deep knowledge of the market was particularly valuable since it also allowed us to identify off-market alternatives. We considered up-and-coming projects in addition to existing space. Luckily, since JLL was brought in early – three years before the current lease is due to expire – there was plenty of time left until the move.

The assessment of the individual relocation scenarios included technical advisory support from our Project and Development Service Team. These experts evaluated the cost and quality of the IT equipment and all other technical requirements. By appraising the various offers and rating them objectively, they gave OSK all the information it needed to make a fully informed decision with plenty of lead time.

Our work enabled OSK to make a sound, well-informed decision – and added real value, too.

Sebastian Voges, Director Office Leasing, JLL
Locked in, then renegotiated

We turned the landlord’s market into a competitive market. Having strengthened our bargaining position, we negotiated comparatively good incentives for our client, including extra amenities. First, though, we locked in the desired rental property before the landlord had even started to officially market it. Without requiring OSK to pay two rents. All thanks to the tremendous flexibility of both negotiating partners. Despite the difficult market, OSK is ready to move into “Haus Friesenplatz” in the summer of 2021: a modern work environment with brightly lit rooms, a communication-friendly floor plan, multiple balconies and terraces, and electric vehicle charging stations. This 6-floor property, rented exclusively for OSK, meets all the requirements of the communication agency from Cologne.