Asset Manager

Asset Manager Type: Permanent / Full Time / Monday to Friday / 37.Type: Hybrid role with a requirement to work from the Northampton office 3 days per week
Salary: £42k - £50k plus car allowance

Full, clean driving licence (essential)


The Asset Manager is an important role in Bright Horizons UK, with responsibility for the property and asset management of circa 120 - 150 nursery settings. The role will ensure that each nursery can operate from the building/grounds securely (lease term, planning ) and flexibility which is appropriate to each individual nursery, be it a community or client nursery, leasehold or freehold. The Asset Manager will work with operations and other supporting functions to formulate and document a property strategy.
This role comes with accountability for reviewing lease terms, checking service charges, insurances, business rates, mitigating costs across the nursery portfolio including keeping rents as low as possible and recording information promptly on the property management software.
The Property and Asset Manager’s workload is varied from dealing with day to day enquires from the nurseries, operations team and other support functions, negotiations with landlords to having the ability to recognise and add strategic value to the business through the asset management and professional work (rent reviews/lease renewals ) of the nursery settings.
The role will get involved in the acquisition of new sites for either replacement nurseries or new locations and also the disposal of settings, via surrender, subletting/assignment, sale and reviewing opportunities and putting together the reports to support the business cases and working with the various internal and external team/consultants.
The role works closely with a number of different departments within Bright Horizons including legal, finance, operations, facilities and marketing and a key part of the role is to work collaboratively, seek alignment and ensure processes are followed and accountability taken for agreed clear actions.

Provide day to day property management and working in collaboration with the finance team to ensure rents, service charge, business rates and insurance are paid on time and efficiently as possible.
To keep CRM up to date regarding lease renewals, rent reviews, breaks and other information that is needed for the system.
Build relationships with Landlord, assist in the property information held and asset management strategy for each nursery.
To regularly plan and visit nursery in the Asset Man portfolio, such as 1 – 2 days per month to meet with NM/ops team to understand property related challenges and help forge asset management strategy.
To work collaboratively with the other support functions to improve the process and improve efficiency and quality of information to inform business decisions in areas such as, but not limited to, legal (heads of terms), facilities (business cases for refurbishment work), finance (renewals, divestments and CRM ), project team (new developments)
Formation of central data base of rents, yields, insurance, service charges
Reviewing data, demographic reports, competitor analysis, comparable evidence and compiling reports.
To asset manager and formulate a property strategy for each nursery having regard to the nursery financials, demographics, the “nursery place” supply/capacity in the nursery catchment area and other factors where appropriate. Property Acquisitions, for replacement or new locations, preparing and presenting reports to support business cases, including demos, parent maps, financial models, working with consultants (planning, highway ), negotiating, developing and agreeing heads of terms, instructing legal and managing through to acquisition of site/building.
To seek opportunities to add value to the nursery operation of the estate which might be through development opportunities, adding nursery capacity or mitigating/reducing costs such as rents, service charges, business rates or insurance, and re gearing leases with landlords.

Review and approving rent, service charges and insurance payments, keeping CRM up to date, day to day property management
Management of 3rd party and vacant properties and coordinating with finance and facilities team
Build relationship with operations to help resolve any property related issues and inform the property strategy
Formulating Asset Strategy for each nursery to be agreed and review every 12 months
To work collaboratively with facilities to complete the business cases for capital investment
Putting together business cases/presentations for replacement and new acquisition nurseries, assembling the reports undertaking the financial models, making recommendations and summarising risk and sensitivity.
Co-ordinating the due diligence prior to the acquisition, planning, highways, costs consultant, working with the developer/architect to develop the design and working with the project manager on the specification
Agreeing Heads of Term for the purchase or lease for the purchase contract, agreement for lease and lease clearing identifying the structure of the deal, the conditionality to ensure that the risk of the deal is mitigated for Bright Horizons.
Assisting in the due diligence of the acquisition of other nursery businesses regarding property related matters
Take responsibility for own personal and professional development

Property/Asset/Estate management experience across a commercial property portfolio
Property acquisitions and development, demonstrating strategy, the importance of due diligence and conditionality
Used to formulation of strategies for negotiations and projects with timelines and strategies and articulating
Strong PC skills - Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint
Use of Property Management systems (BH use a CRM system)
A pragmatic, solution focused approach using risk evaluation, outcome scenarios to determine options and solutions to problems
Knowledgeable of L&T law, familiar with reviewing leases and where appropriate to work with legal to seek advice on the implication of clauses within leases and obligations placed on the landlord and tenant.
Preparing detailed Heads of Terms, applicable to the transaction and instructing legal
Good understanding of planning, party wall issues (desirable)

Relevant first degree, post graduate degree and professional qualification in Property/Estate Management (desirable)
Relevant qualification, then demonstrable experience in Commercial Property Management (essential)
Evidence of continuous professional development (desirable)
A desire to provide high quality customer service (internal and external)
Excellent influencer, and effective communicator, (oral and in writing)
Accountable, making sure ownership of projects is clear and seeing projects through
Able to use data and numerical detail effectively to review implement strategy,
Strong commercial and strategic instinct

Please note, due to our sector all roles are subject to an Enhanced DBS.