Skip to content
Menu

South Yorkshire Property Firm Cuts Costs in Response to Coronavirus

South Yorkshire Property Firm Cuts Costs in Response to Coronavirus

South Yorkshire Property Firm Cuts Costs in Response to Coronavirus

22 April 2020

 
Sheffield based property firm Dransfield Properties Ltd is cutting costs, including senior staff salaries as the company prepares itself for a return to normal trading conditions after the UK lockdown.
 
Dransfield Properties owns and manages a number of award-winning, mixed-use centres across the UK with more than 630,000 sq. ft. of retail, office and leisure space and over 160 different tenants across the portfolio. 
 
Centres owned and run by Dransfield Properties include Fox Valley in north Sheffield, where the firm’s head office is based. 
 
The company was founded 28 years ago and also owns and manages Marshalls Yard in Gainsborough, Sanderson Arcade in Morpeth, Lime Square in Manchester and Selby’s Market Cross, as well as Five Valleys in Stroud; a mixed-use town centre scheme which is currently undergoing a major investment programme. 
 
When the UK lockdown was announced on Monday March 24th, the same week as the rental quarter date, all building work was halted. With only a small number of essential retailers operating, the company’s senior team quickly re-focussed their efforts on cutting service charge and running costs. 
 
The company has also furloughed half of the 23-strong head office team with senior directors working remotely and all taking a voluntary 20% pay cut. 
 
Other non-furloughed staff have also agreed to salary reductions and head office overheads have been cut by up to 35%.  The majority of staff across the centres have also been furloughed or taken temporary voluntary salary reductions and along with other cost savings the service charge across the centres has been reduced by 50%. 
 
Communication with tenants, which include large national retailers as well as smaller family run and independent firms, has been a priority along with cutting costs.  The Estates Team is also assisting the smaller companies across the portfolio to access the grants and Government support available to businesses. 
 
Managing Director Mark Dransfield DL, who has taken a 50% pay cut himself, said: “The strong relationships we have with both our tenants and our banking partners will be crucial to getting through this period as a business and being ready for re-opening. 
 
“With only partially open centres our focus has been on cutting the costs for our tenants, as well as supporting those key businesses which are of course offering a vital service to the community at the moment.”
 
Stores still permitted to trade across DPLs centres include M&S Simply Foods, Home Bargains, Iceland, ALDI, Wilkinsons, Poundland, B&M Bargains, Holland and Barrett and Pets at Home as well as several family run stores including butchers and greengrocers. 
 
Medical Centres and opticians across the sites are also continuing to offer a service to customers. Dransfield Properties has a Medical Centre on the company’s Lime Square centre and has just agreed a deal to deliver a new £4.9 million town centre Medical Centre in Stroud as part of the redevelopment project there.
 
Mark added: “We have got a long road ahead coming out of this but preparing ourselves for that is crucial right now and our team has responded quickly and efficiently to that challenge. Focussing on delivering new facilities like the Stroud Medical Centre is also a key part of our work at the moment. 
 
“We expect social distancing and other important safety measures to be part of the retail landscape for some time, even when the none essential stores are permitted to re-open.  
 
“We’re fortunate that our centres are mainly outdoor with wide footpaths and walkways as well as open spaces so we are confident that centres like ours will be in a good position to make shoppers feel safe when we do come back on stream and re-open.”
 
To find out more about Dransfield Properties visit www.dransfield.co.uk 
 

For further information, contact:

Public Relations Department, Dransfield Properties Ltd
Tel: 01226 360644
Email: pr@dransfield.co.uk

Recent News