Mace Group

After years of effort and coordination, much of a project's success comes down to the final months of delivery, when tenant requirements, commercial deals, and rent agreements are secured, and the quality and efficiency of the work to date is revealed. Ensuring that the practical completion process runs smoothly and efficiently requires a detailed close-out strategy that fulfils the programme and paves the way for the client to position the project for long-term commercial viability.

At Ropemaker Place, a City development by British Land, the stakes for the final phase of delivery were even higher than usual. The 20-storey building, which contains 586,000 square feet of sustainable office and retail space was procured in an overheated construction market. Mace Group, which provided project management, construction management and cost consultancy services, was responsible for ensuring that the project was handed over to the client's satisfaction, on programme and in style.

It is at the crucial stage, when the practical completion date is looming, that the lines of delivery are often blurred and when a detailed close out strategy is needed. The Mace team recognised this early on and set about enhancing its own processes to ensure they met the client objective to complete Ropemaker Place on programme and in style, with a high degree of client satisfaction in relation to the quality of completion and hand over. This case study discusses the series of processes that were developed in order that the close-out had the highest opportunity to succeed.

The £150m shell and core building achieved practical completion in May 2009 and with 38% of the building pre-let to Bank of Tokyo, it qualifies as the biggest leasing deal in the Square Mile for the past year and was recognised as "Deal of the Year" in the Property Week Office Development Awards 2009. No mean feat when you consider the amount of empty office space in and around the City of London in recent times. Further tenants have been secured since then for levels 12 and 13.

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To read the full project profile on Ropemaker, click here:

http://www.macegroup.com/projects/project-library/ropemaker