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Genesis

District Technologies is the brainchild

of Vanessa Butz and Patrick Morselli.

There is impressive pedigree here.

Among other ventures, Vanessa

launched Factory in Berlin and founded

Interchange in Camden. Meanwhile

Patrick was Head of Global Expansion

at WeWork, and previously Uber.

‘We founded District as a solution

to the increasing threat that landlords

face of becoming low margin profit

providers to the WeWork’s of the

world. In addition we see increasing

demands from both small companies

and large occupiers around building

services and office experiences’, says

Butz who was recently nominated for

the EG Rising Stars Award 2017.

This allows

landlords to

increase their

customers’

awareness

of the value

that they are

providing

which in turn

can lead to

the creation

of brand

loyalty and

ultimately,

stickier

income

Rent to Relationships

The aim of the business is to help

landlords to move from ‘rent

to relationship’. The vehicle for

achieving this is a mobile app that

‘connects users in the building with

the things they love’, centered on

the users working experience, the

platform is multi-faceted. At its heart

is the creation of a digitally linked

community, providing opportunities

for networking, events and education.

It also serves as a medium to buy

services, food and drinks, manage

the allocation and booking of space,

control ambient conditions, and

provide powerful data on building

utilisation. The platform is not

just technology, but also human.

District initially provides deployment

managers in the set up phase to

support landlords and tenants with

onboarding the app and help them to

connect with each other.

How does it help?

‘Occupiers are no longer satisfied

with forcing their visitors to queue at

reception and then have their name

written down on a piece of paper

just to enter the building. That’s five

minutes of every meeting that you

never get back – imagine the months

of your life wasted!’

‘It is the amenities as much as

the location of building which drive

talent retention. We like to say that

District creates ‘vertical footfall’

by connecting retail tenants to the

office occupiers upstairs through

the platform allowing users to order

lunch, laundry or a yoga class and pay

for it with the click of a button, even

if the building is lacking amenities.

Do you really need to invest in a large

gym in your building if there is one

just around the corner?’

‘Last but not least, the amount

of tenants in large buildings or

campuses who do not know their

neighbour companies is staggering.

One of our partners recently

told me that they were clients of

another company for over a year

before they realised they were in

the same building! Why should

only small companies benefit from

information exchange, synergies and

business opportunities in co-working

spaces? We believe that connecting

communities (no matter how different

they are) will be a commercial

imperative for landlords looking

forwards’.

Client proposition

In a nutshell, District ‘upgrades real

estate assets into supercharged

connected communities’ allowing

people to work more efficiently and

more effectively.

Fundamentally, the District name

stays in the background, allowing

landlords to create a bespoke brand

for their buildings. This allows

landlords to increase their customers’

awareness of the value that they are

providing which in turn can lead to

the creation of brand loyalty and

ultimately, stickier income. And it

seems to be working. ‘In a short time,

we have built up a strong client base

of progressive landlords who see the

value in what we’re proposing such as

Enjoy-Work here at the 9,000 person

Chiswick Park. The next year is going

to be exciting!’

Final Thought

The absolute focus on the end user

– from providing an outstanding

experience to lease flexibility –

perhaps represents the greatest

legacy of co-working on the

commercial market and it is forcing

all property owners to raise their

game and create points of difference.

Having seen first-hand how

consistently engaged London’s

property owners have been to

the District proposition I am more

convinced than ever at the scale of

the potential for growth in this space.

If the technology and content is on

point then the users will adopt it and

become engaged with their building,

their neighbours and perhaps even

their landlord! At a time of such

change and intense competition, the

opportunity to get closer to your rent-

paying customers can surely only be

a good thing for property owners.

Follow District Technologies: @get_district

CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD

33

#TRENDING