Welcome to our third edition of Survo Insights.

In an increasingly fast-paced market, the difference between a high-performing property and a problematic one often comes down to the speed and quality of information. Whether you are navigating lease events, monitoring structural condition, or tracking daily operational performance, the ability to act decisively is paramount. In this edition, we cover three critical areas where proactive management is helping our clients—both landlords and tenants—maintain an edge, mitigate risks, and gain total visibility over their property interests.

Introducing Aivio: The New Standard in Property Management

We are delighted to announce that Aivio, our bespoke in-house property management platform, is now fully operational across our managed portfolio. At Survo, we believe that property management should never be static. We are constantly seeking ways to improve, embracing new technology to replace legacy processes with systems that are faster, leaner, and more transparent. Aivio is the embodiment of that commitment—a platform engineered by surveyors, who fully understand every aspect of property management, to solve the real-world complexities of modern property management.

Moving away from generic "off-the-shelf" logging tools, Aivio provides a unified, data-driven ecosystem that creates a seamless experience for every stakeholder.

Why This Changes the Game

We have designed Aivio to dismantle the "black box" of traditional property management, replacing reactive, siloed communication with a live, integrated environment:

• For Landlords: You gain total 24/7 visibility. Rather than waiting for quarterly reports to assess the health of your assets, you will have a real-time dashboard of repairs, compliance status, and financial transactions. This provides the clarity needed for faster, more confident decision-making.
• For Tenants: Efficiency is at your fingertips. Our dedicated portal allows you to report maintenance issues—photos included—in seconds. Issues are automatically captured, triaged, and tracked, removing the frustration of "chasing" and ensuring your premises remain operational without unnecessary delays.
• For Contractors: We have streamlined the workflow. By receiving precise, pre-triaged work orders directly through the portal, our contractors can focus entirely on resolution rather than administrative overhead.

Precision, Performance, and Professionalism

Aivio was built to solve the specific complexities of the sector, ensuring that excellence is engineered into every transaction:

• Intelligent Triage: Every report is automatically prioritised and routed, ensuring urgent issues are escalated instantly.
• Dynamic Insurance Protection: We actively monitor Reinstatement Cost Assessments (RCAs), ensuring your buildings are never under-insured as market conditions shift.
• Proactive Compliance: Safety obligations and certificate renewals are tracked against live, automated triggers, ensuring you remain ahead of all statutory requirements.
• Verified Quality: Contractor insurance and accreditations are stored and validated centrally, ensuring only vetted, compliant professionals step foot on your site.
• Enterprise-Grade Property Accounting: Our financial engine is not "bolted on"—it is the core of the system. We leverage automated transaction matching, bi-directional reconciliation, and real-time ledger auditing to ensure that all client money and service charge expenditure is reconciled to the penny and strictly aligned with RICS standards. This "always-on" accounting architecture eliminates manual entry errors and provides an immutable audit trail for every pound processed.

Because we own the platform, we are constantly refining it based on direct feedback from our clients and tenants. We are transforming property management from a series of disjointed emails into a seamless, modern, and efficient service.

We will be in touch as we roll out landlord access. In the meantime, if you would like an early preview of how Aivio can enhance the management of your portfolio, please get in touch with the team.

Surveying: Protecting Property Value Before Problems Escalate

Commercial properties are significant assets, and their condition can have a direct impact on value, occupational use, compliance and future expenditure.

Regular building surveys provide landlords, tenants, investors and property managers with a clear understanding of a property’s condition, helping to identify defects, maintenance requirements and potential liabilities before they become more costly issues.

A professional survey can assist with:

• Identifying visible defects and areas of deterioration
• Assessing the condition of key building elements
• Highlighting health, safety or compliance concerns
• Supporting maintenance and capital expenditure planning
• Informing lease, acquisition or disposal decisions
• Reducing the risk of unexpected repair costs

Why early advice matters

Many building defects develop gradually. Issues such as water ingress, roof deterioration, cracking, defective rainwater goods or poor external fabric condition can often be addressed more cost-effectively when identified at an early stage. Without regular inspection, minor defects may develop into more significant problems, potentially leading to disruption, increased repair costs and disputes between landlords and tenants.

Roof inspections and drone surveys

Roof areas are often difficult, costly or disruptive to inspect by traditional means. We are now regularly undertaking drone surveys of roofs for landlords, providing clear visual records of roof coverings, gutters, flashings, plant areas and other difficult-to-access elements.

This approach can help identify defects safely and efficiently, support planned maintenance decisions and provide landlords with a practical overview of roof condition without the immediate need for scaffolding or access equipment.

Supporting better property decisions

Building surveys are not only relevant when something has gone wrong. They are also a valuable tool when considering:

• Acquiring a property
• Taking a new lease
• Planning refurbishment works
• Reviewing maintenance obligations
• Preparing for lease expiry
• Managing a commercial property portfolio

A clear and well-structured survey report provides practical advice, helping clients understand the condition of the property and help prioritise the next steps.

Taking a proactive approach to surveying and maintenance can help protect asset value, reduce uncertainty and support informed decision-making. Whether acting for landlords, tenants, investors or managing agents, early professional advice is an important part of effective commercial property management.

Statutory Notices: Don’t Ignore the Mail!

We have recently seen a surge in activity involving national multiple tenants, with several of our clients receiving formal Section 26 (tenant request for new lease) and Section 27 (tenant notice to vacate) notices. These aren't just routine administrative tasks; they are clear indicators of a broader "portfolio optimisation" strategy being deployed by large occupiers across the country.

When national chains begin serving these notices in quick succession, it is rarely a coincidence. It is often a signal that they are conducting a nationwide review of their operational costs, branch profitability, and ESG footprints. For landlords, these notices are not just "paperwork", they are the starting gun for a negotiation that will dictate the value of your asset for years to come.

The "Why" Behind the Notice:

• The Section 26 Request:The tenant is looking to take advantage of perceived market downturns and benefit from rental reductions immediately upon lease expiry. Alternatively, they may be ‘testing the waters’ to see if you are prepared to grant favourable terms for a new lease, or if they should perhaps look to relocate.

• The Section 27 Notice: This is the "exit strategy”. National retailers are increasingly ruthless about disposing of secondary or underperforming premises. If you receive one of these, it’s not just a sign to find a new tenant, it’s a warning to begin your marketing and dilapidation assessment immediately to minimise any void period.

Survo’s Proactive Approach:

Whether you have received a Section 26 request or a Section 27 departure notice, the most risky thing you can do is ignore it or treat it as a routine email.

• Section 26: You have a strictly defined window (two months) to respond if you intend to oppose the renewal. Waiting even a few weeks can result in losing your statutory right to oppose the renewal (possible under certain circumstances).

• Section 27: When a tenant gives notice to vacate, we advise an immediate pre-exit inspection. Don't wait for them to hand back the keys to discover the extent of the dilapidation liabilities.

Are you seeing unexpected notices hitting your desk? Our team is currently managing these exact processes for several clients. If you’ve received a notice, or suspect one may be coming, let’s discuss your strategy before the clock starts ticking.

Survo Chartered Surveyors 195 Bury Old Road, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 1JF 0161 792 5050

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