The Client
JLL is a world leader in real estate services. The company buy, build, occupy and invest in a variety of assets including industrial, commercial, retail, residential and hotel real estate. From tech startups to global firms, JLL’s clients span industries including banking, energy, healthcare, law, life sciences, manufacturing and technology. Overall, they manage over 4.6bn square feet in property and facilities management.
The Challenge
The property was a vacant industrial unit on Feeder Road in Bristol, spread over two floors. It had recently received substantial refurbishment and was in the snagging phase, ready to hand over to a prospective tenant, when it had become occupied by squatters who had hosted a large-scale unlicensed music event, causing significant damage to the property interior. At its height in the early hours of the Sunday morning, around 400 people were estimated to be taking part in the illegal rave. Following a local security officer noticing large crowds of youths congregating in the area, our team located the event after scanning social media posts. The risk of further property damage was high, meaning securing the property was incredibly high priority.
The Veritas Solution
We immediately deployed a security officer to the premises to monitor activity, and engaged with the local Police, who also attended site. Attendees threw bottles at Police officers, and coupled with the sheer volume of people, the Police decided that it was safer to block off entry to the building, rather than attempt to close down the event.
Veritas’ Senior Management Team attended the unit, assessed the situation and informed the client of the event early on the Sunday morning. Veritas and JLL have a long-standing relationship, as we had previously secured the property prior to it being handed over to the refurbishment contractor. A full free security assessment was conducted and a quote covering the eviction and re-securing of the property was provided to the client by lunchtime the very same day. JLL requested a continued security presence on-site and instructed Veritas to proceed with the eviction.
- 400 - Attendees to Illegal Rave
- <8 Working Days - Eviction & Site Re-Secured
- 8 - Steel Shutters Installed
- 3 - Concrete Barriers Positioned
- 0 - Breaches Since Installation of Veritas Security Measures
The Result
We obtained the possession order, converted this to the High Court and completed the eviction in less than 8 working days, fully securing the premises. We subsequently arranged emergency reactive maintenance to make-safe the electrics and water, and installed a vacant property alarm system, concrete barriers and steel sheeting post-eviction to prevent further entry, before being handed over to site contractors for refurbishment.
Following the handover, Veritas were retained to protect the property throughout the new repair and refurbishment phase, to ensure a similar situation does not arise in the future - something that can happen so easily when a property is left unprotected, even for a short period of time.
Amanda, Director, JLL, said,
“Veritas provided an excellent service during a difficult situation; when a property that we manage for one of our high-profile clients got broken into, and an illegal rave took place. Veritas acted quickly and professionally, providing cost-effective and time-efficient options and keeping us updated throughout. We were able to report to our own client regularly, and provide the reassurance that we had the situation in hand. The speed that we were able to submit the application to the Court and in turn, get the illegal occupants removed from site was amazing.
“The result meant we could limit the damage caused as much as possible, reassure the surrounding occupiers and gain vacant possession for a new tenant. These types of situations are never very easy and can be a very stressful time, but Veritas worked closely with the whole team and ensured it was managed as smoothly as possible.”
