Case study: CRE company and an international law firm

BMG has been working with a world-leading commercial real estate business for several years. We recently partnered with them on a long-term project with a renowned international law firm that employs more than 1,400 legal professionals in 19 cities worldwide.

Towards the beginning of 2020, the firm was looking to consolidate the space in its Birmingham office. The firm lets six and a half floors and hoped that by the end of the year, it could move staff from the half floor into other floors in order to sub-let the space on the half floor. The project required the clearance of the half floor and re-organising of the two above to consolidate desks. In total, over 450 desks were moved.

BMG’s role was to service the move. The work was completed during October and November of 2020. It was initially due to take place over three weekends but as the pandemic led to the premises being largely vacated, the teams were able to work during the week. BMG completed the job over the course of a fortnight, saving the client the additional cost from weekend and evening wages while allowing time for the additional challenges that Covid presents.

A move during Covid-19

Due to the pandemic and the sudden move to home working, the offices still contained a huge number of items from staff and these needed to be moved before we could begin our work. We started by taking a digital audit, photographing the items and the places they were found in to make it easier to repatriate belongings. Although these digital audits can take some time to complete, it is important to ensure our clients’ employees feel their personal belongings are respected and accounted for throughout the process.

A limited number of employees were then asked to come into the office and pack their own items and those of nominated colleagues into around 1,600 boxes, which then, too, needed to be stored safely or sent to employees as requested.  

We also faced the additional challenge of carrying out a move in a multi-tenanted building. This is always more complex as we need to negotiate times for parking and moving through the building with the other tenants. During Covid-19, we also have to make sure that we maintain effective precautions such as social distancing and wearing masks, and that we respect all safety processes that tenants have in place.

Once we had managed these processes, we were able to move forward with the move. While the CRE company led the project, the team worked with BMG because we provide a full service rather than a simple furniture move. In addition to moving the items, we moved power supplies according to the new floor layout and we refitted the carpets as needed.

We also helped with transferring data or data-containing items such as laptops. All data is dealt with separately to ensure complete security. We have robust and multi-layered processes in place for IT relocation which ensures any sensitive data does not leave our clients’ premises, and all items are always tracked and accounted for. 

A sustainable move

We always strive to work in as sustainable a way as possible. There were a number of metal and wood side returns that could not be used in the new layout, so these were sent to be recycled. We used the local Birmingham depot for transport to reduce fuel and support the local economy.

Some clients choose not to keep certain items of furniture or equipment. We provided multiple waste management options to ensure that nothing went to landfill, including recycling, refurbishing or donating. Refurbished items can be used by the client or sold. Charities we work closely with and donate to include one that provide technology for children in schools, and another that supports people to find employment.

Office move expertise

The move was a complete success, delivered in time and under budget. This was particularly important for the law firm, as any downtime or disruption to staff would have had a noticeable impact on the business.

We provide business move support across the Midlands and the UK. Contact us today to discuss how we can support your relocation.