A group of the world’s largest agents have come together to draw up a new training programme to help combat the controversial issue of “double dipping”.
JLL, CBRE, Savills, Knight Frank and Cushman & Wakefield have agreed to work together on an online course that will educate agents on best practice when advising on investment deals.
It follows the November 2014 publication of voluntary guidelines by the Investment Property Forum designed to clamp down on conflicts of interest – such as advising on both sides of a deal or acting for multiple bidders – which had raised concern among some investors.
Compliance teams from JLL and CBRE have developed the programme and are working on a test that all of their investment agents will be required to sit.
JLL UK chairman and lead director capital markets Chris Ireland, who is also chairman of the IPF, said: “Following the publication of the protocol, quite a few firms reviewed their own practices and it did change behaviours and attitudes.
“To reinforce and continue that work, we have developed an online training programme that will take staff through the reasons for establishing the protocol, why we think it is important for the industry and offer examples of what is and is not acceptable.”
The tool will be reviewed this week by the IPF working group of investors, agents, lawyers and accountants that helped developed the guidelines before its planned introduction early next year.
It comes after the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors launched a wider consultation on conflicts of interest in the property industry this autumn.
The work – which also takes in potential conflicts in landlord and tenant advice – is expected to report back next year and could result in mandatory standards being adopted.
