The Winchester – Case Study

• Project: The Winchester pub
• Sector: Hospitality Industry
• Client: Heineken
• Location: Islington, London, United Kingdom

You can choose to secure your property with regular security products like steel security screens or alarms, but you can also choose socially responsible security such as property guardianship.

That’s what guardianship is all about, this way you can protect your vacant properties whilst offering accommodation for working professional people across the UK.
Property guardians take good care of a building that would otherwise stand empty and ensure that during this time the property is secured and well maintained. They hold a licence to live on-site, until the vacant buildings are ready to be returned to the owner to be back in use, which vary from 6 months to 24 months.

VPS Guardians provides a cost effective way to secure a vacant property from unauthorised entry, vandalism and squatters. They offer a peace of mind that the property is safe, secure and maintained to the expected standard and can help mitigate empty property business rates, saving even more money.

Our solution

When Heineken approached us with the question, what can we do to secure our property in a socially responsible way? we offered them our guardian services. This way the property is secured and maintained for the period it is vacant, and with the short termination period the pub can be opened at short notice again.

In the years that we have been active with vacancy management in the UK, we have managed pubs several times. Thanks in part to this experience, it was possible for us to have the Winchester pub in central London inhabited at short notice by carefully selecting guardians. The housing facilities were already available and the guardians could move in immediately. The current guardians come from a variety of backgrounds, from an NHS nurse and construction coordinator to a musician and even an employee of a heart foundation.

Guardian services vs. Security

Heineken has opted for a socially responsible security solution because it best suits the building and location, but there is also a big cost advantage. If this property was secured in the regular way, it would cost Heineken around £ 120 a week rental.

By choosing guardians, electronic security can be minimized or omitted. In addition, Heineken will receive a guardian rebate of 20% of the monthly guardian income in this case. In this case, this means earnings of £440 based on four guardians paying £ 550 a month. The licence fee will be retained by VPS to support the continued management of the property and guardian service, guardian selection, screening and placement. Also the completion of fortnightly inspections and on-going management.

This way Heineken could still profit from their vacant property instead of spending it on electronic security.