back to listings SME Profile: Stewart Watson & Co Ltd
130 Fleet Street, London, EC4A 2BH
t: 020 7426 0960 e: gt@swco.co.uk w: swco.co.uk
Welcome to Stewart Watson & Co Ltd
The company was formed in 1996 and is now firmly established with seven professional staff, each having a broad experience in all aspects of building surveying within the commercial property market.
Each of our professional staff has a background in major surveying practices and this combined experience is delivered with the personal commitment, Independence and enthusiasm typically associated with the smaller firm. We operate throughout the United Kingdom and enjoy the confidence of a large range of clients.
What we do
Building Surveys
Liabilities arising from the design and physical condition of a building can be significant and may have a major impact on parties who become owners or occupiers of buildings, who should seek an independent assessment of the property as part of their due diligence process.
A building survey involves a visual inspection of a building and, where appropriate, its services installations, to provide an assessment of such liabilities in the context of a particular property transaction.
Stewart Watson has a broad experience of undertaking building surveys throughout the United Kingdom on a wide range of building types on behalf of purchasers, vendors and occupiers. Our input extends to coordinating specialist advice such as environmental analysis and deleterious material testing.
Dilapidations
Dilapidations is the term to describe disrepair arising from non-compliance with repairing liabilities in leases. Dilapidations arise both during and at the end of a lease and often lead to disputes between a landlord and tenant.
Stewart Watson advises landlords and tenants and has wide experience in dilapidations law and practice, which ideally qualifies us to deal with the broad range of dilapidations scenarios that arise. Our input during a lease involves scheduling disrepair as part of an enforcement process, typically against a tenant. At the end of leases, dilapidations liabilities are often discharged by payment of damages, when our role involves scheduling and costing disrepair and negotiating claims for landlords, or alternatively responding to such claims on behalf of tenants.
Our input is particularly effective when undertaken at a strategic level, where advice given in advance of a lease expiry, allows us to formulate a planned and considered approach for landlords seeking compliance or for tenants managing and discharging their liabilities.
Project Monitoring
Acquisition of an interest in a property is frequently entered into during the early stages of a building project, with the transaction being conditional upon satisfactory completion of the works.
In such scenarios, potential purchasers or tenants are not directly involved in the procurement process and have limited control and as their requirements are not necessarily aligned with those of the party responsible for delivering the works, conflicts can arise.
Stewart Watson’s project monitoring service involves independent representation for purchasers and tenants to protect their interests during a transaction. This extends from initial scrutiny of the proposed works, contractual framework and transaction agreement, through to monitoring the works on site to ensure all matters are concluded in an appropriate manner.
Project Management
The success of a building project is measured by it meeting a number of criteria including timing, cost, quality and suitability; project management is the assumption of responsibility for co-ordinating a building project in the context of these key criteria, with a level of intervention to suit circumstances. The role is contingent on many factors, including the degree of expertise within the client organisation, but is largely one of managing the planning and implementation of building works through the provision of independent technical advice.
The project management role is usually independent of the professional team responsible for design and procurement of the scheme, but will frequently extend to fulfilling the role of contract administrator, which involves preparing the design and specification for the works, seeking competitive tenders and overseeing their implementation.
Stewart Watson regularly fulfils the project management and contract administration role for a wide range of clients with a particular emphasis on refurbishment of commercial buildings.
Property Maintenance
Whilst physical deterioration of a building is inevitable, appropriate intervention enables this to be managed in an economically effective manner and for remedial works to be implemented in a way which mitigates costs arising from avoidable deterioration and unplanned repairs.
Stewart Watson combine their knowledge of building construction with an understanding of property asset management to advise clients who have responsibility for maintaining buildings. Our advice plays an important part in achieving compliance with lease obligations, spreading and optimising expenditure in maintaining asset values.
Our advice extends from reacting to an immediate concern, through to preparing schedules of works or planned preventative maintenance programmes, and managing the implementation of repair and maintenance work. Our experience allows us to undertake in depth analysis of complex defects, as well as providing practical solutions to more routine maintenance requirements.
Relocation Services
The decision for a tenant to relocate to new premises brings with it a number of challenges including assessing the liabilities associated with the new accommodation, establishing the suitability of the new premises and implementing the necessary occupational works.
Our building surveys involve a visual inspection of a building and its services installations, to provide an assessment of liabilities arising from the design and physical condition of the chosen building as part of a due diligence process. Our premises review and space audit service establishes key criteria to be satisfied by the chosen building.
Our input in relation to occupational works can be a full Project Management role, where we would stand in the client’s shoes, through to a basic “hand holding” exercise. Our role is contingent on many factors, including the degree of expertise within the client organisation, but is largely one of managing the planning and implementation of the fit out process through the provision of independent technical advice.
Professional Services
The skills of a Building Surveyor are wide ranging and our broad experience enables us to deal with the diverse range of issues that arise for a property owner or tenant, including;
- Reinstatement Cost Assessments
- Schedules of Condition
- Party Wall and Boundary Issues
- Licences for Alteration
We have a flexible approach which has enabled us to adapt our input, where the role requires a combination of skills to suit a particular situation.
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