Emily Corfe looks at the highlights of this year's Charity Property Conference.

Is it time to sell the London office? The answer is yes, according to some experts at this year’s Charity Property Conference.

The benefits – or lack of – of a London head office were hotly debated during a panel discussion which questioned the relevance of office space – calling for fewer London offices and increased flexible working for staff.

Jonathan Cook, director of the charity think-tank Insight-ful pointed to the perception that charities with London head offices are often seen by the public as sitting on “a very fat asset”.

The London office conundrum is compounded, he said, by the fact that middle managers working in the charity sector feel the pinch of the lower salaries – in comparison to other sectors – once they hit their mid-30s and begin having children. So the urge at that point for these experienced charity workers is to up-sticks and leave London in search of a bigger family home, he said.

“So it’s a myth in the charity sector that there is no talent outside of London,” he said.

A resulting London brain drain, the panel heard, means that charities face difficulties in retaining staff of this age and experience range.

A delegate in the audience questioned if charities would benefit by announcing the disbanding of their London office – in return for more money spent on beneficiaries and greater public trust.

But Bacon pointed to the benefits of his charity being closer to the heart of London – and potential donors.

Time for mobile working?

Cook questioned whether the sector needs offices at all, suggesting Pret or Starbucks as a viable alternative – although questions were raised about the ability of Starbucks to house the sector’s bulging workforce.

“There are many women with children who have had to leave the charity sector because it requires them to go into work five times a week. I don’t mind if my staff want to do their work on a Monday morning or Thursday evening – as long as it gets done,” Cook said.

Jonathan Vanstone-Walker, director of TSP, pointed to the advantage of co-working spaces to enable charities to try out new ideas at low cost and reduced risk, with users of co-working spaces only required to give one months notice before leaving.

Charles Scott, managing director of commercial shared services at Action for Children, also highlighted the potential benefits of mobile and home working - with staff just potentially requiring the use of a meeting room just once or twice a month.

Are charities savvy enough?

Break time chat focused on the question – are charities property savvy at all?

The answer is no, according to some delegates who pointed to charities’ lack of general property know-how, in comparison with the commercial sector.

According to one delegate, many charities have only recently become aware of the requirement for a good property manager – and when they do, they often still report to the finance manager, instead of their own property function, which is a generally bad move, she said.

A good solution was put forward by panel chair Antonia Swinson, chief executive of the Ethical Property Foundation, suggested the benefits for charities of appointing trustees with sole responsibility for property.

Brexit forecast better than expected

Brexit was on people’s minds during the conference – with a surprisingly positive take on a post-referendum charity property market.

Preliminary speaker Nina Skero, senior economist for the Centre for Economics and Business Research, predicted a property market slowdown post-Brexit but rubbished claims of a collapse in the market, due to demand still outstripping supply.

While the economy would slow in the coming years, she said, people’s confidence will go up as clarity emerges in two years’ time as people become more comfortable with the Brexit idea.

But she also warned that an extreme isolationist approach by the new government could pave the way for “years of economic uncertainty”.

Brigadier Robin Bacon, chief of staff for ABF The Soldiers Charity, painted a positive post-referendum picture. His charity analysed their own figures both before and after the referendum and found themselves stronger by 3.1 per cent since Brexit, he said.

“But the bad news is that we are still in the Eurovision Song Contest,” he said.

Susan Kernachan, head of property for Mencap also predicted her charity would “ride the storm quite well”.

But she worried about the effect of Brexit on the charity’s overall funding.

“A high per cent of our income comes from the government,” she said. “So I’m worried about the knock-on effect as we are vulnerable to the economy.”

Vanstone-Walker said the “prevailing Brexit theme” is one of “uncertainty” – with the potential for a reduced level of property transactions.

But his primary message was one of hope, with “periods of uncertainty giving way to opportunities for charities,” he said.

“A charity with a good, strong balance sheet, that pays a bit less, will be seen as a good way to go for landlords – as opposed to a young tech company that might be able to pay more but has an uncertain future,” he said.