Asset type
Retail, Industrial, Distribution, Healthcare, Office
Portfolio size
54M SF
Regions
US & Western Europe
VTS product type
VTS 3
AR Global is a global advisory and asset management firm with 54 million square feet of assets under management on the VTS platform. It focuses on delivering maximum value to its shareholders across a portfolio of four REITs. These include:
- American Finance Trust (NASDAQ: AFIN): A national retail REIT that consists of a mix of both multi-tenant retail centers and single-tenant and net-leased properties.
- Global Net Lease (NYSE: GNL): A single-tenant net lease REIT with industrial, distribution, and office assets based in the U.S. and Western Europe.
- Healthcare Trust, Inc: A national REIT with a mix of medical office, senior housing, and skilled nursing assets.
- New York City REIT: A New York City focused portfolio made up of multi-tenant office, retail, and garage assets.
Given the size of its portfolio and the number of tenants, AR Global’s team wanted more accurate and timely information on the status of leasing deals and tenant renewals. The team decided that VTS could provide true transparency into its business and provide better insight into the leasing performance of any of its REITs. Since becoming a customer AR Global has transformed its leasing and asset management processes.
“In our retail portfolio, VTS has helped with tenant retention.We’ve been able to see what’s coming down the pipeline more seamlessly than tracking a rent roll here or stacking plan there. ”
Zachary Pomerantz, Senior Vice President, Asset Management
Challenges & Roadblocks
Why AR Global needed to transform its approach to leasing & asset management
Inefficient leasing process
At times, AR Global's brokers didn't share information about new leads or deal updates as they happened. Instead, they sent AR Global a spreadsheet with updates an hour, or even thirty minutes, before the monthly leasing meeting. AR Global had no time to qualify those leads, which delayed its ability to respond to brokers and move deals forward.
No easy way to manage upcoming renewals
The team couldn’t easily track upcoming tenant renewals. They needed to check building rent rolls and site and stacking plans on an ad-hoc basis. As a result, the process of proactively alerting their brokers to get ahead of the renewal process was difficult.
Outdated site plans
The team saved their site plans in different folders, and whenever there were changes to details or in- place tenants, they needed to be updated manually. As a result, site plans could become outdated and the team's ability to create the best tenant strategies across their portfolio was at times more complicated as a result.
Solution
Transforming the leasing and asset management process at AR Global
Faster deal cycles
With VTS, AR Global’s teams are now pushing deals through the pipeline faster . In one system, brokers record leads and deals, and asset managers run the deal flow. All teams receive moment-by- moment deal updates across the entire portfolio. This enables executives to review and respond to opportunities faster.
Improved tenant retention
With VTS, AR Global has improved tenant retention across its portfolio. By managing key lease details and expiration dates in one place, AR Global has clear insight into its upcoming renewals. VTS also reminds the team to proactively coordinate with brokers and get ahead of the best deals for the portfolio.
More strategic decisions with live site plans
VTS live site plans give AR Global the information it need to be even more strategic with its tenant strategies. Because VTS integrates with AR Global’s accounting system, site plans get automatically updated with accurate information including rents, lease terms, options, and encumbrances. Teams now instantly understand the current tenant makeup of any retail center whether at their desk or from their smartphone.
Results
-43%
reduction in deal cycle times
+37%
increase in renewal deals that convert to executed leases
33
properties with live site plans
“The [VTS] platform today is providing us true transparency. It allows me to see on a moment-by-moment basis what’s actually going on in our portfolios. We’re able to review, respond, and push deals through on a faster basis than we otherwise would be.”
Senior Vice President, Asset Management