Contractor Management

Contractor management can be a very challenging area for organisations to manage and your obligations under Occupational Health and Safety legislation are not absolved because you have engaged the services of a contractor. It is important that contractors have a clear understanding of what is required while on site at your workplace and that they have their own robust safety policy and safety procedures in place.

If your organisation engages contractors or sub-contractors, contractor risk management should be integrated into your safety management system. A safety induction which is relevant to the site should be completed before commencing work. The complexity of the contractor management process will depend on how a contractor is engaged, the type of work, where and under what circumstances the work is being conducted.

Designated workplace health & safety consultants with experience in your particular industry will work with you to develop a contractor management program that demonstrates due diligence and gives you a practical tool to systematically manage contractors.

A Consultant can provide you with a gap analysis to ensure your current safety policy and safety procedures are up to date with current Occupational Health and Safety legislation.

Contractor management safety services should include:

·    Review the current contractor safety management process and make recommendations

·    Development of a contractor safety management program for your business including safety policy, safety procedures, safety checklists, safety induction and/or safety training

·    Mentoring and training program to give your staff the skills to manage contractor safety

Source; Safety Australia; safetyaustraliagroup.com.au

Why do I need a Section 52 Statement?

In Victoria you are legally required to provide a prospective buyer with a Vendor’s Statement (also known as a 'Section 52 Statement') if the goodwill, plant, equipment or fittings of the business are being sold for a total price of $350,000 or less. Failure to provide this statement or satisfactorily complete it will give the buyer the right to terminate the sale contract. You must give the purchaser or their representative a completed and signed copy of the statement before they either sign the contract or pay the deposit.

The sale of small businesses is regulated by provisions of the Estate Agents Act 1980 and the Estate Agents (General, Accounts and Audit) Regulations 1997.

Your accountants will make sure you have this document is available to prospective purchasers prior marketing the business.

Why buy an existing business?

If you buy an existing business, you can analyse the profit and loss statements and balance sheet of the Company you are buying. This is an advantage because you see firsthand what you are getting in, particular the income streams of the business and the individual expenses of the business.

In addition to this you have a going concern producing revenue, with staff, brand, systems and an infrastructure in place. In essence you are making money from the day you settle.

When you start a business from scratch, you must secure and fit out a premise, build the systems, web site, arrange plant & equipment, hire and train staff- all of this before you begin to earn an income.

Statically most start up businesses struggle to make a profit and in some cases fail within 3 years from commencing. Experience would say that starting up a business require an enormous and of persistence & resilience but above all a bullet proof business plan.

What items to be included in the sale of a rent roll?

The followings items that possibly could be included in the Contract of Sale to purchase a rent roll;

 1.            Telephone numbers and Facsimile numbers- In some cases the franchisor may   reserve/own these numbers and this is reflected in the franchise agreement.

2.            The agency’s web site URL.

3.            The agency’s Trading Name.

4.            Any mobile phone numbers of staff where the business pays for or provides a mobile phone as part of the employees work agreement.

Rent Roll Market Wrap -2013

Victoria

We have seen an increase in buyer enquiry from agents wanting to purchase rent roll over the last quarter. The reason for this is that agents are experiencing a decrease in sales income and are willing to purchase a rent roll that ensures bankable and regular monthly income.

A number of sale of smaller sized rent rolls, or parts of existing rent rolls have occurred in the last quarter. The reason for this is agents have sold rent rolls in order to inject capital into their businesses. Some residential agents have sold their commercial portfolio’s, to concentrate on core activity, reduce debt.

 There haven’t been a lot of transactions where agencies have sold on a walk in walk out basis. The business confidence and the state of the Real Estate market haven’t encouraged this.

We predict that there will be more mergers of agencies over the next 12 months; so agencies with like businesses can take advantages of the economies of scale and maintain income whilst reducing duplicated costs.

The multipliers are remaining constant at $3.00- $3.20 in Metropolitan Melbourne, $3.20-3.35 for quality Inner City rent rolls that have been managed for a length of time.

The outer suburbs particularly the Western Suburbs f Melbourne the multipliers have dropped slightly to figures of $2.00-$2.40.

 The multipliers in regional Victoria have maintained their values in the $2.00- $2.50 region.

NSW     

We have experienced a huge increase in buyer activity in the last quarter. The appertite from agents looking to increase and scale up the size of their rent rolls has been huge. As a generalisation the size of rent rolls NSW have been smaller than some other States. Buyers now see the value in a large well run rent roll that provides consistent property management income and sales leads.

The amount of buyer activity in the Eastern Suburbs, North Shore and Hills District has resulted in a seller’s market.

The multipliers achieved for good sized well run rent roll is $3.20-$3.70 in Metropolitan Sydney. Rent rolls have sold in outer suburbs in the $3.00- $3.20 region. The multipliers achieved in regional areas such as the Central and northern Coast is in the vicinity of $2.50- $3.00, whereas rent rolls in the Regional Country areas have sold around $2.40-$2.70.

Tips on Buying a Rent Roll

We are seeing a growing number of business owners who for a variety are choosing to sell their rent roll. With targeted marketing of a rent roll we are experiencing good competition from buyers wishing to purchase and integrate a new rent roll into their existing one. This generates income into the business immediately.

A Buyer usually can leverage their existing infrastructure without adding huge expenses to their business. The income generated from buying a rent roll of 150 properties far exceeds the extra associated costs. These could be;

• Small upgrade to the computer system or trust accounting package
• Additional fixed office costs including desks, electricity, office space, rent etc.
• No additional staff or perhaps employing an administration person to assist the Property Manager.
• Additional sales income generated from the “new rent roll”.
• No additional procedural systems.

However, not all rent rolls may be a great investment. Care must be taken that the purchase will not cause deterioration of the existing rent roll due to poor management of the rent roll purchased.

Taking on rent roll of any size is going to require more work, however if you need to spend 80% of the staff’s time on 20% of the rent roll to “bed it down” then it is a recipe for disaster.

A structured due diligence process can reduce the potential for loss of property and allow for the program of changes and improvements to be implemented by the team at settlement.

 In short you can use the settlement period to be proactive about reviewing the files regarding the following items to ensure they are in order;

• Current lease status
• Rent increases
• Bond lodgements register
• Keys
• General or routine inspections
• Outstanding maintenance
• Property & client familiarisation
• Arrears or part payments
• Financial reporting to owners

Taking a proactive approach through thorough research and due diligence can protect the income stream of the rent roll you purchased. Needless to say it also builds goodwill with your new clients.

Due Diligence

Buyers of businesses are naturally concerned that they have made a “good” buy and that any representations made to them have been true and correct.

To provide this assurance there will often be a condition in the agreement for sale and purchase for the buyers (or their professional advisors) to check the business further. For the smaller business this may be as basic as approving the lease and the financial statements.

For the larger business the process may be far more complex and take longer to complete. The focus will be on three main areas: legal, financial and operational. Experts may be required to evaluate the different areas.

Business owners planning to place their company on the market need to anticipate the probability of some form of due diligence requirement. To ensure a win – win deal they need to be aware of what the buyer will want to see, have the information ready for inspection and be certain that no unexpected surprises will emerge. And the seller needs to see the process from the buyer’s perspective.

Missing documents, lack of co-operation or a lack of understanding of the process can lead to uncertainty, delays, suspicion and, often, cancellation of the contract,

The experienced business broker should educate both the buyer and seller on the due diligence process so that both have reasonable knowledge and realistic expectations. However, it is not the broker’s job to conduct due diligence for the buyer. The broker can facilitate the flow of information, anticipate obstacles and check that those responsible for various tasks are carrying them out in a timely fashion.

Below is a list of information that may be required under due diligence for a mid size business. This is not meant to be complete or appropriate for any specific business.

• business structure – company, partnership, sole trader
• historic summary
• financial statements and GST returns
• lease details
• assets schedule and identity of any plant, , leased, hired, or not passing in the sale
• organisation structure, employment contracts and staff schedule
• pricing, structures, discounts, terms of trade
• marketing and advertising strategies and commitments
• any trademarks or patents
• contractual arrangements e.g. franchises licenses, supply contracts etc
• computer software and other IT information
• any legal issues