A case study for in‐house real estate services Available to Purchase

Many corporations in recent years have considered outsourcing administrative or non‐essential functions. This reflects both a corporate desire to focus on core functions and growing sophistication among providers of these secondary functions. Rogers Communications Inc., one of Canada’s largest, diversified telecommunications enterprises, considered this option but chose instead to retain and centralise its extensive real estate interests into a single corporate real estate function. The following case study traces Rogers’ experience, from the starting point of distinct real estate portfolios managed by individual operating groups to the end point of a centralised, full‐service, corporate real estate function. It discusses various challenges faced by Rogers during the centralisation process and the corresponding measures and strategies that contributed to a successful outcome. It also suggests useful performance indicators to measure the value contributed by the corporate real estate function.