SUCCESS STORY
OPTIMIZED
GLOBAL PORTFOLIO
eliminating excess square footage and generating over $9 million in associated annual spend reduction
CHALLENGE
CohnReznick has rapidly grown organically and through aggressive M&A activity to become a top 15 public accounting firm in the world. With a team of almost 3,000 employees and an
extensive footprint in 25 cities throughout the world, the firm has experienced typical pains resulting from rapid growth and M&A activity including office redundancies, differing workplace strategies and inefficient use of existing offices.
ACTION
CohnReznick partnered with Gregg Metcalf and team to navigate its workplace strategy.
Gregg Metcalf and IPS team conducted a workplace usage study of three of the firm’s larger offices. It was determined the firm was severely underutilizing office space and pinpointed strategic opportunities for smarter real estate transactions and cost savings within CohnReznick’s real estate portfolio.
Within 6 months, Gregg’s team and CohnReznick conducted and implemented the New Office Space Strategy. Excluding offices already set to close, they:
-
Identified eight locations where the firm could shed excess square footage and the associated rental cost.
-
Identified nine locations to approach landlords about near-term savings, such as abatement, square footage reduction and/or rental rate reduction, offering additional term length in exchange.
-
Uncovered 3 sublease opportunities in the US, all of which, in addition to reducing costs provided more seats than assigned employees and square footage well above the targeted 135 square feet per person.
OUTCOME
Gregg’s team and CohnReznick—
1- Completed 12 significant transactions within a 36-month window.
2- This resulted in the elimination of over 245K square feet of excess square footage – a 20% reduction when compared to CohnReznick’s entire portfolio.
3- This generated $9.1 million in associated annual spend reduction.
TESTIMONIAL
“Led by Gregg Metcalf, his Integrated Portfolio Services team’s capabilities extend well beyond the complexities of workplace strategy. By providing lease administration, portfolio analytics and an overall terrific transaction process Gregg leveraged his world-class platform to provide a single point
of contact for all of our corporate real estate needs.”
- Brad White
National Director for Real Estate
1998 - Present, CohnReznick