Caroline Robinson, Commercial Real Estate Business Development Manager at Search Acumen, comments:
“Managing due diligence and planning around complex commercial real estate transactions can be fraught with risk. Relying on paper trails which take months to collate mean that problems can be overlooked, and issues not identified until a development is in process. This can often cost projects time and money.
“That’s why it’s good to see that the Government is supporting the commercial real estate sector with new pre-application support and application process services that allow due diligence professionals to work directly with the authorities to ensure they are on the right track. This will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the planning process.
“But there is much work to do. Law firms must begin to change their mindset and try and learn more from the outset of the project using digital data now available to them. This means embedded systems and processes reticent to change must be reassessed and data-driven approaches must be embraced. Being able to better identify future problems before building begins is invaluable.”
