Corporations tend to show little interest in the property they own or lease, though if they took the trouble, they could probably cut costs by 20%.

This is the finding of a survey of European companies by consultants Ernst & Young. The report concludes that, though 80% of the companies surveyed were trying to reduce costs and real estate was an issue raised at board level in 60% of them, they did not focus much on it.

The report also found that:

• Thirty-seven percent of companies surveyed had no management database of real estate, and 55% had no formal corporate property strategy;
• About 18% of respondents had not carried out property-related initiatives in the past year, and 31% had no intention of doing so in the next; and
• When asked how they would use their corporate property to add value to operations, 52% of respondents said they did not know, or would do nothing. More than 50% admitted to having "poor" knowledge of real estate.

Financial Mail