Equiem, the Australian PropTech business that develops and provides tenant experience platforms for commercial properties, has acquired Vicinitee - British Land’s digital property management platform, which is used across more than 150 buildings throughout the UK, including Broadgate, The Shard and The Gherkin.
This acquisition will see Vicinitee’s work order and contractor, visitor and space management technology integrated into Equiem’s tenant engagement, vendor management and analytics platform and paves the way for 'the industry’s first workplace experience platform, encompassing solutions for managing tenant relationships, flex space and property operations in one system.'
Vicinitee is a web-based platform that streamlines property management operations and facilitates communications between property owners, occupiers and contractors. It is currently utilised across 157 properties, including trophy assets The Shard, The Gherkin, The Scalpel, Kings Cross and Broadgate. The platform is also used by many of the UK’s largest managing agents, including Knight Frank, Savills and Workman, among others. Vicinitee’s clients include such prominent owners as Blackstone, The Crown Estate, Derwent, Tishman, Argent, Axa, Safra and Hammerson.
Gabrielle McMillan, CEO of Equiem, said: “There are two things that have become even more critical for landlords as a result of the pandemic - strengthening tenant relationships, and driving operational efficiencies. This acquisition allows Equiem to meet both of those needs, in one platform, and significantly expands our scale and addressable market. The acquisition of Vicinitee triples our UK business and increases Equiem’s global footprint to circa 500 buildings and over 100 million square feet of commercial real estate”.
Sally Jones, Head of Strategy, Digital, and Technology at British Land, commented: “We’re proud of the exceptional service and value Vicinitee has delivered to property owners over the past decade. The role of data and technology in creating great places for our customers and their people is now more important than ever. Our partnership with Equiem is a natural step forward to offering the highest levels of service and experience to everyone across the property management chain. This acquisition creates an unmatched value proposition that we believe clearly defines Equiem as a market leader and preferred partner of landlords globally."
McMillan said, “This partnership with British Land allows us to expand and refine our offering across a world-class portfolio alongside forward-thinking real estate leaders. British Land is committed to partnering with their occupiers to provide a differentiated workplace experience for employees, and we’re excited to shape our technology around this ethos and commitment.
"Property operations is complex. This is not software that you can build quickly. We knew we wanted to expand our offering to meet these needs and acquiring Vicinitee (rather than building a suite of building operations software from scratch) gives us a significant advantage, with Vicinitee’s 20 years of history solving problems for property managers across hundreds of buildings.”