About me
Nicholas Myers MRICS
Director, Agility Building Consultancy. Chartered building surveyor specialising in commercial technical due diligence, with more than 20 years across every commercial asset class.
I have worked as a commercial building surveyor for 20 years, and I started Agility Building Consultancy to focus on the type of work I love to do, specialising in technical due diligence as an independent surveyor.
After working in various consultancies and some client-side work, my career culminated in the Arcadis Lenders, Investors and Insurers team as Director and Head of UK Real Estate Due Diligence. This was a great position, working with large commercial real estate investment clients and leading the technical advice on multi-million and billion-pound transactions across four main sectors: industrial, hotels, purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) and build-to-rent (BTR), and offices.
I wanted to continue working in this field as an independent surveyor, and have been fortunate to be able to keep working on these premium commercial assets, with the majority of my work as a sub-consultant to other firms.
My main body of work is providing specialist technical due diligence survey support to national and regional building consultancies — supporting resource gaps or large-volume portfolio transactions, or serving long-distance regional areas at short notice. I would love to share some of the transactions I have been involved with; however, I operate on a very discreet basis for my clients, and while I’m proud of the technical support I provide, I can’t take credit for their instructions and client relationships.
I do not undertake any private residential survey work, although I do survey residential flats attached to and integral to commercial properties. I do not undertake project work, which leaves me free to move at short notice and get to a location quickly, in line with the speed and volatility of the transactional market. Having worked in this market for the last eight years, I understand the importance of speed of delivery combined with commercially focused technical advice.
Industrial & logistics
I do like industrial as an asset class. These sites take you all over the UK, with a huge range of tenants and operations — from large nationwide logistics assets to small family-run businesses, and from top-of-the-range modern refrigerated warehouses to Victorian stock and everything in between. One aspect I really enjoy is meeting the various tenants and businesses and seeing the industrial backbone of the country, and the products and services it provides.
The key focus on these assets is how well the tenants are managing the units and complying with their lease responsibilities. Roofs are typically a key area of focus, which is where the drone comes in very useful — quickly assessing and inspecting roofs safely and without disruption across congested sites. Deferred maintenance, cladding materials, asbestos, fire safety and tenant compliance, lease covenants and the age of the asset all play a role in the commercial consideration of the asset and how it sits within the investment strategy.
PBSA, BTR and hotels
I have a great deal of experience in PBSA and BTR from my days at Arcadis, where we advised on a large volume of residential transactions. Key elements, in addition to the external wall, are the other fire safety elements such as compartmentation, fire doors and risers, and how well these are assessed, managed and maintained by building owners as part of their fire strategies and fire risk assessments. Modular forms of construction also need particular consideration to ensure the main structural form is adequately protected.
I have experience of working alongside specialist fire safety consultants for specific fire safety advice to clients. It is important to understand how all these elements combine, and to be aware of potential gaps in information that on the surface appear to be in order.
Offices
Most of the offices surveyed are premium London assets and the key focus on these, in addition to the fabric and MEP elements, is around the tenants’ leases and consideration of the age of the fit-outs. Having worked across offices for 20+ years and undertaken various CAT A and CAT B fit-outs and negotiated dilapidations, it is important to consider these elements commercially as a whole as part of the survey. The perk of these assets is of course being amongst the city skylines, as any surveyor will tell you.
Other asset classes & survey work
Other asset classes I have a great deal of experience in include holiday parks, retail centres, hospitals and health centres, and more recently motorway service stations. In addition to my core technical due diligence work, I undertake other non-project survey work, including planned preventative maintenance (PPM) reports, schedules of condition, drone roof survey reports and school condition reports.
Previous experience
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2018 – 2022
Arcadis Lenders, Investors and Insurers — Director, Head of UK Real Estate Due Diligence
Commission management and delivery of single-asset and portfolio TDD for acquisition, disposal and refinance across all asset classes in the UK and Europe. Main client contact, leading in-house teams and sub-consultant networks and coordinating them into single, commercially focused reports.
Latterly focused on build-to-rent and student accommodation high-rise blocks, working with fire engineers on EWS1, PAS 9980 assessments and remediation advice as post-Grenfell legislation evolved.
Clients included Blackstone, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Citibank, GIC, Eastdil, Greystar, Quintain, Centerbridge Partners, Link REIT, BP and MacDonald Hotels.
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2012 – 2018
Paragon Building Consultancy — Associate Director
Commercial building surveying and project management for pension funds, banks, property companies and developers, including a high volume of pre-acquisition surveys across the UK and Europe and the management of large portfolio surveys. Project management of CAT A and CAT B office schemes up to £5m, and monitoring of residential and hotel schemes up to £30m. Team leader and APC lead, mentoring and recruiting graduates.
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2010 – 2012
The Deerbrook Group — Senior Surveyor
Client-side building surveyor and project manager for a London private developer: Mayfair residential refurbishments, CAT A and CAT B office works, and dilapidations.
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2006 – 2010
DTZ (now Cushman & Wakefield) — Building Surveyor
Landlord professional services team: dilapidations, CAT A refurbishments and PPM schedules. APC doctor and mentor; test candidate on stage at the 2009 RICS National Building Surveyors Conference.
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2002 – 2006
Self-employed builder
Refurbishment of flats and houses across Kent and East Sussex, plus larger projects in south-west France — plastering, decorating and joinery.
How can I help?
If you would like to discuss any commercial survey work, please give me a call or drop me a line.