What We Research
How building performance shapes financial risk.
Our research examines the hidden building performance problems that affect operating cost, collateral value, asset value and financial risk — and who needs to see them.
Financial Institutions
Supporting credit, risk and asset management teams.
Banks, real estate lenders and structured finance teams face growing exposure to building performance risk in their real estate portfolios. Our research examines how that risk arises, and how it can be identified, quantified and monitored.
The Problem
Standard financial due diligence does not capture operating cost leakage, deferred maintenance exposure or the capex requirements that affect the income assumptions underpinning real estate lending. These gaps can create credit surprises during the loan term and valuation shortfalls at exit.
What Our Research Examines
Our research focuses on where standard financial due diligence misses building performance risk — at pre-transaction, at the collateral level, and across portfolios — and how that risk is best framed for credit and investment decision-making rather than technical compliance.
Areas of Focus
Asset Owners
Protecting the value of operating real estate.
Owners of commercial, institutional and mixed-use real estate often carry hidden performance costs that reduce income, accumulate as deferred maintenance, or create unplanned capital requirements.
The Problem
Buildings that appear to be performing acceptably at the headline level may be losing value through operating inefficiency, technical deterioration, or deferred maintenance. These problems are rarely visible in standard financial reporting until they require urgent and expensive intervention.
What Our Research Examines
We study where physical assets underperform relative to their potential — in operating cost, technical condition, comfort and maintenance profile — and how those findings translate into financial terms and priorities for protecting asset value and reducing leakage.
Areas of Focus
Listed Companies
Building performance as a reported financial metric.
Listed companies with significant real estate holdings face growing pressure to demonstrate the quality of their asset base — from investors, analysts and regulators who increasingly treat building performance as a financial matter.
The Problem
Real estate-heavy listed companies are exposed to operating cost inflation, ESG disclosure risk, and potential valuation adjustments if their asset performance profile is not well understood and documented. Sustainability reporting that lacks operational substance is increasingly scrutinised.
What Our Research Examines
Our research looks at how building performance translates into reportable metrics — energy intensity, operating cost benchmarks, capex exposure schedules and performance improvement trajectories — and how those figures hold up under investor, analyst and regulatory scrutiny.
Areas of Focus
Investors and Funds
Technical intelligence for investment decision-making.
Real estate investors and fund managers need to understand the operating reality of assets before committing capital — and to monitor performance against investment assumptions throughout the holding period.
The Problem
Acquisition due diligence processes often underweight building performance factors relative to their financial impact. Hidden capex requirements, operating cost inflation, and performance-related occupancy risk can materially affect investment returns over a typical five-to-ten-year holding period.
What Our Research Examines
Our research examines the building performance factors that acquisition due diligence tends to underweight — operating cost risk, capex exposure and income resilience — and how they affect investment returns across a typical holding period.
Areas of Focus
Insurance and Risk Teams
Physical performance intelligence for risk underwriting.
Insurance underwriters and risk managers covering real estate assets need to understand the physical condition and operating profile of the assets they cover — particularly for property, business interruption and engineering lines.
The Problem
Building condition assessments prepared for insurance purposes often focus on structural and fire risk. Operating performance factors — moisture risk, cooling plant condition, maintenance profile, envelope integrity — receive less systematic attention despite their relevance to claim frequency and severity.
What Our Research Examines
Our research addresses the technical and operational risk factors most relevant to insurance underwriting — envelope integrity, moisture risk, equipment condition, maintenance exposure — and how performance degradation feeds into claim frequency, operating cost and income risk.
Areas of Focus
Our Research Outputs
Structured analysis for financial decision-making.
Asset Performance Risk Note
Concise, financially-framed summary of building performance risk for a single asset. Structured for lending, acquisition or insurance decision-making.
Building Performance Review
Systematic assessment of technical condition, energy performance, operating cost profile, maintenance exposure and near-term capex requirements.
Portfolio Optimization Matrix
Cross-portfolio performance benchmarking with prioritised asset improvement recommendations by financial impact.
Capex Exposure Summary
Quantified assessment of near-term and medium-term capital requirements arising from deferred maintenance and technical deficiency.
Energy and Operational Leakage Report
Detailed analysis of operating cost excess relative to benchmark, with root cause identification and remediation cost estimates.
Distressed Asset Recovery Plan
Rapid technical and operational assessment for assets in receivership, repossession or distressed sale — structured to support recovery decision-making.
ESG and Real Asset Disclosure Support
Performance data and narrative support for listed company or fund real estate disclosure obligations.
Discuss Our Research
Practical intelligence before a financial decision.
Our research is followed by institutions, investors and owners where a clearer view of building performance can protect value and improve decision quality.