Global factors are of highest concern right now in the minds of Australian banks and central bankers around the world. The downside risk created by Falling GDP forecasts in China, and other emerging market economies are of concern, as is the rapid run up in debt in the post GFC period. In China, especially, slowing economic growth has raised the possibility of a sharp increase in defaults, particularly within industries now burdened by an over investment in capacity. So where does funding for developers come from now? What new funding structures are available?

What 3 Important Pieces of Advice Does This Article Have For Aspiring Property Developers And Investors?

1).  Surround yourself with highly experienced and commercially minded advisors who have the strongest track record within their field of expertise.

2).  Increase your investment and marketing, sales and advertising directed at selling into the local market.

3).  Arrange your finances in such a way that allows you to complete your existing pipeline of projects in fundamentally sound markets where your    competitors will be unable to do so.

As a highly experienced and commercially minded company, VicClean Pty Ltd is a leading service provider for large scale projects, with sustainability and social responsibility at the forefront of all commercial practices. We currently service a portfolio of $30 billion dollars and have a pipeline of approximately 4000 apartments over the next 2 years where our company will provide cleaning, facility management, concierge, security and other services individually or combined. We have worked as consultants to many new developers coming into the Australian property market, focusing on operational excellence, to ensure that owners will have buildings that work efficiently and amenities that are enjoyed, with realistic budgets and no surprises for Owners. High profile sites we manage include Mirvac’s Yarra’s Edge Tower, Fitzroy Street, St Kilda and Santorini Apartments, St Kilda.

VicClean’s innovation 

Innovation and reinventing our approach to cleaning has seen our company develop a specialised sustainable new system of cleaning. We are guided by our Environmental Management System 1401 where we are required to maintain documented procedures to enable on going monitoring and measuring of environmental targets. Our purchasing procedures ensures environmental considerations are at the forefront and life-cycle analysis of products are considered. Havencab has made significant progress and has achieved remarkable results compared to conventional cleaning. We were the first company in Australia to clean using aqueous ozone and continue to roll this out to all new developments.   This process eliminates 93% of chemicals from site and is totally safe for our cleaners, this year we have managed to increase this by 2% so 95% reduction in chemicals across our green sites. Our Green cleaning system continues to reduce water by 78%, electricity by 29% and significant carbon reductions.

Inviting developers to view our private lifestyle solutions

Our group recognises that the landscape for apartment living is changing rapidly with high density around transport nodes and the high net worth Asian owners buying into the high profile apartments. We have formed a JV partnership with a highly reputable, same core values, lifestyle organisation that services high net worth individuals such as the Packers, Kidman’s, Lowy and many along with large corporate clients. With directly employed staff we can now deliver a totally unique offering for residents, retailers or commercial occupiers of these buildings. Through our site management software we are able to offer services such as babysitting, high end chefs, dinner party arrangements, butlers, shopping and fridge stocking, wedding, birthday, party arrangements, private jets, charter boats, whatever their request we have it covered. We believe this offering is totally unique in the Australian market and will drive future growth and differentiation of our business.

Continuous Improvement and Benchmarking delivers high contract retention

The mission of adherence to ethical values and “delivering an unforgettable customer service experience” starts with Senior Management. These sentiments are prominently displayed on our business cards, policy, literature, training programs, and in all the cleaners’ rooms. Our staff believes in this vision and they embrace it. We follow and are guided by ISO9001, our adopted Quality Management System since 1995, and this forms the basis of our QA system. All our procedures are documented with regular inspections, reviews and a continuous improvement process in place. The QA’s are also completed using iPads to ensure immediate reporting to clients and a reduction in paper. The records of these are analysed and graphed and KPI’s are set for each manager and these are tied into remuneration and bonus structure of managers. During these inspections additional services are identified when required, which is addressed by our Customer Service Manager in the office and a quote is sent to the relevant party within 2 days of the inspection.

We also benchmark our organisation’s performance with other cleaning companies to ensure we are excelling. We carry out regular electronic surveys with clients and Owners to gauge our service delivery and level of satisfaction. Senior Management, all the way up to the MD, also meets with key clients and front line staff to ensure there is complete understanding of service delivery from all levels.