Money might make the world go round, but without connectivity, chances are it won’t get far.
And it is not just billions of pounds of transactions being driven by the web. Connectivity has become the linchpin to our lives whether at work or play.
When it comes to making real estate investment decisions, knowing how connected a certain building is – or is not – has never been more crucial.
William Newton and Tom Redmayne are here to help. These two 20-something entrepreneurs have been charged with expanding the UK arm of WiredScore, a multi-million-pound US initiative launched by Mayor Bloomberg in New York in 2013.
The concept is simple – a certification that rates buildings on their connectivity, from the quality of internet service providers and bandwidth capabilities to the reliability of connections based on the building’s infrastructure. Here, Newton and Redmayne reveal how they plan to expand the certification in the UK and explain why a connectivity score will soon be something that no major building in London can afford to be without.
Beginnings
The success of WiredScore in the US, and now in the UK, is mainly down to the dichotomy between the increased importance of connectivity and the lack of transparency that tenants receive about the technological capabilities of buildings.
Newton, an ex-policy adviser to the prime minister and former McKinsey analyst says: “What was attractive to me about coming on board with this company was that it felt like it was solving a problem that I had heard before.
“At Number 10, one of the things I did was listen to businesses to understand how we can make Britain the most attractive place in the world for them. A complaint that came up several times was that people didn’t trust their internet.”
So far, the introduction of this sort of scoring system has proven to be what occupiers want. And so, by default, what the property sector needs.
And if more evidence is required, in the two years that the company has been active in the US some of the world’s most sought-after global tenants, including WeWork and industry bodies such as the British Property Federation, now prefer Wired-certified buildings.
Closer to home, Newton and Redmayne, a former Cushman & Wakefield surveyor, have signed a throng of high-profile clients to the scheme (see box).
Futureproofing
The WiredScore certification scores buildings on their connectivity and awards bronze, silver, gold or platinum standards. The certifications are renewed every two years.
The system will create a benchmark enabling landlords, agents and tenants to understand the significance of quality internet.
The certification gives agents the information they need to transparently discuss the digital infrastructure of buildings with clients, says Redmayne. And for landlords and investors, it is about futureproofing.
“Imagine you are an investor and you are looking at two buildings that are exactly the same on the outside, and you know one is Wired-certified, but you had no idea about the other. If you bought the Wired-certified asset, you have the knowledge that its infrastructure provides longer-term security,” he says.
Now, the company is looking ahead to ensure businesses are digitally covered from the start. “When you are building something new, you have to think about what it is that people want,” says Redmayne.
In March the Wired Development and Refurbishment Certification was launched. This can be implemented during a property’s development phase and will allow developers to promote the future connectivity of their schemes during the prelet period. This is not only good news in terms of attracting tenants and investment, but could cut down on the cost of implementing systems to improve connectivity at a later date.
Newton and Redmayne will also work closely with the London mayor’s connectivity advisory group to improve standards across London.
The hope is that this will result in a swathe of new buildings that can support and match cutting-edge technologies such as cloud computing and virtual and augmented reality, as well as ensuring the certification becomes a benchmark internationally.
“There is a huge pipeline of development coming through in London,” says Redmayne, “and an appetite to understand what needs to be done to create a better connected city. That really links into the ambition of the Greater London Authority to create a city that is more attractive to tenants.”
Simple concept
Now it is up and running, the WiredScore concept seems so simple. So obvious. Especially in a city where the need for
high-speed connections is constantly debated.
Newton says one of the reasons the company has slotted in so smoothly to the existing London infrastructure is that despite being a start-up, WiredScore is not a disruptor.
“The Wired certification has been successful because it is something that is really helping the sector. On one hand, you hear about disruptors which are trying to shake up the existing industry. The other kind of company is an enabler, like us. And an enabler fits neatly into the ecosystem and helps what everyone is already doing.”
“I think you are going to find businesses are increasingly reliant,” adds Redmayne. “Every company is a tech company now and has huge digital needs. It’s come to the forefront of popular conversation. Whatever
happens with the market, digital connectivity is fundamental – it’s not going away.”
How it works
• Properties are scored on the number and quality of internet service providers, bandwidth capabilities and the reliability of connections based on the building’s infrastructure, and are awarded bronze, silver, gold or platinum standards.
• The certification is renewed every two years to keep up with technological changes and occupier needs.
• The scheme launched two years ago in New York and the initial standards in the US were approved by experts including Google Fibre and Cisco,
then ratified by the Greater London Authority.
• More than 11m sq ft of commercial office space in London is Wired-certified.
• In the US and London more than 500 buildings are Wired-certified, amounting to more than 200m sq ft.
Who’s connected?
Companies with Wired-certified buildings include:
• British Land
• Argent
• Legal & General
• Stanhope
• Land Securities
• Tishman Speyer
• City of London
• Beacon Capital
• Derwent London
• LaSalle Investment Management
• Canary Wharf Group
• Greater London Authority
• Oxford Properties
The connectivity conundrum
Richard Howard, senior director, central London leasing, Cushman & Wakefield
It would be interesting to conduct a survey of occupiers to see if, given the choice, they would rather have their water or data connectivity cut off. This may sound extreme, but the answer would undoubtedly illustrate just how high up the list connectivity is for almost every occupier. And the ability to understand how effectively and quickly a building can connect is now business-critical.
This doesn’t just apply to speed and availability of connections, but in resilience. “Downtime”, once a regular occurrence, is now rare. Anything less than immediate resolution is met with irritation by employees and, crucially, clients, who are able and willing to switch supplier at the push of a button.
Downtime is headache enough for conventional businesses, but for an e-commerce business, connectivity issues and extended downtimes could be nothing short of terminal.
Most occupiers have a key member of staff responsible for office moves – in the case of larger companies this could be a team of people. Their key priority is to make the move as smooth as possible. It is also crucial to be able to compare options on a like-for-like basis.
Being able to measure and quantify what a prospective new building offers helps tremendously in this process, whether it is lux levels, occupational densities, lift speeds. Connectivity is easier to ascertain in a new building such as White Collar Factory – which is one of the most connected buildings in London – but less so in an older building. Having a certificate as reliable as a BREEAM standard, but covering connectivity and infrastructure, is an effective way of overcoming this issue.
It is entirely conceivable that the importance of connectivity will continue to evolve beyond the realms of simple comparison. Indeed, the process could be reversed, such that an occupier could be briefed that the “first cut” of possible buildings in a new location would be by general geography, size and connectivity. Occupiers will simply not want to engage in an option that does not offer unquestionable connectivity. Investors should keep connectivity front of mind when considering their existing and prospective assets.
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