IPM Limited Dependable commercial property and project support

IPM Limited

Dependable commercial property and project support

Latest Articles

The Year-End Ledger as a Workstream: Service Charge Reconciliation Under Scrutiny
Compliance & Regulation

The Year-End Ledger as a Workstream: Service Charge Reconciliation Under Scrutiny

Service charge reconciliation is often handled as a finance close-down, yet it carries the hallmarks of a small project: fixed deadlines, multiple contributors, evidence gaps and an occupier audience quick to test the numbers. This article sets out a managed workstream for UK commercial property teams, from building a defensible audit trail to closing the cycle without a lingering dispute tail.
The Policy Schedule Is Not the Valuation: Reinstatement Costs in 2026
Compliance & Regulation

The Policy Schedule Is Not the Valuation: Reinstatement Costs in 2026

Sums insured drift away from real rebuilding costs quietly, and the gap is usually discovered at the worst possible moment. This guide sets out how to commission a reinstatement cost assessment, what evidence loss adjusters expect to see, and how property teams can keep the figure defensible year after year.
After the Keys Change Hands: Running Defects Liability as a Managed Workstream
Compliance & Regulation

After the Keys Change Hands: Running Defects Liability as a Managed Workstream

Practical completion is a milestone, not the end of the project. This guide sets out how to give the defects liability period its own owner, register, reporting rhythm and close-out discipline so that outstanding issues are resolved before final certification and retention release.
Before the SLA Bites: Structuring the First Quarter of an FM Contract
Compliance & Regulation

Before the SLA Bites: Structuring the First Quarter of an FM Contract

Awarding a facilities management contract is not the same as starting the service. The first ninety days carry the heaviest operational and contractual risk, and they respond best to project discipline: a named lead, a dated plan, clear data handover and a formal readiness review before day one.
Consent First, Contractors Second: Untangling the Licence to Alter Process
Compliance & Regulation

Consent First, Contractors Second: Untangling the Licence to Alter Process

Tenants routinely commit to dates before the landlord's surveyor has seen a single drawing. This guide examines what a licence to alter actually requires, where negotiations lose weeks, and how to assemble a consent pack that survives first review.
Closing the Loop: Why Handover Deserves Its Own Phase on the Programme
Opinion & Insight

Closing the Loop: Why Handover Deserves Its Own Phase on the Programme

The final weeks of a commercial project are routinely planned as if they will look after themselves. They rarely do. This piece argues that handover is a managed phase with its own risks, and sets out a short checklist for closing it out cleanly.
Counting the Cost of 'Next Year': A Governance Guide to Maintenance Backlogs
Compliance & Regulation

Counting the Cost of 'Next Year': A Governance Guide to Maintenance Backlogs

Deferred maintenance rarely arrives as a single capital request. It accumulates through small postponements that become a governance and compliance exposure. This guide sets out a practical audit, risk-scoring and board presentation framework for turning a backlog into a costed plan.
Before You Push the Programme: The First Month of a Fit-Out Recovery
Opinion & Insight

Before You Push the Programme: The First Month of a Fit-Out Recovery

A stalled fit-out is seldom rescued by pushing the programme harder. The first thirty days should restore safety, evidence and control before the client chooses to recover, re-scope or re-tender. This recovery playbook sets out a disciplined sequence for inheriting a project mid-delay.
Empty Rooms, Full Obligations: Managing Vacant Commercial Property in the UK
Compliance & Regulation

Empty Rooms, Full Obligations: Managing Vacant Commercial Property in the UK

Vacant commercial space does not stop generating obligations. This practical guide sets out the costs that continue during void periods, a room-by-room inspection routine and a cost-control checklist to keep an empty building safe, compliant and re-lettable without overspending.
The Tender Is Not the Project: Choosing Contractors on Evidence, Not Price
Opinion & Insight

The Tender Is Not the Project: Choosing Contractors on Evidence, Not Price

The cheapest tender often becomes the most expensive project through variations, delays and rework. A weighted scoring framework based on capability, capacity, safety and communication gives clients a defensible way to shortlist UK commercial contractors without treating price as the only signal.
Decision Drag: The Unbudgeted Line Item in UK Commercial Refurbishment
Opinion & Insight

Decision Drag: The Unbudgeted Line Item in UK Commercial Refurbishment

UK fit-out budgets are scrutinised line by line, yet the cost of slow approvals and conflicting sign-offs often escapes the spreadsheet. This opinion piece examines how decision drag inflates final spend and sets out a practical governance checklist for keeping commercial refurbishment projects moving without cutting corners.
Closing the Door Quietly: A Tenant's Checklist for Dilapidations and Lease Exit
Compliance & Regulation

Closing the Door Quietly: A Tenant's Checklist for Dilapidations and Lease Exit

Handing back leased commercial premises should not be a scramble of last-minute repairs and disputed schedules. This practical 12-point checklist helps UK tenants gather evidence, prioritise works and communicate with landlords to protect cash flow and close the lease cleanly.
The Case for Boring: Why Reliability Outperforms Innovation in UK Fit-Out
Opinion & Insight

The Case for Boring: Why Reliability Outperforms Innovation in UK Fit-Out

Disruption is a word suppliers use about themselves; clients tend to use different vocabulary when a programme slips. In a market defined by cost pressure, fragile supply chains and unforgiving handover dates, this opinion piece argues that dependable delivery has become the genuine competitive advantage in UK commercial fit-out.
Twelve Months, One Diary: A Practical Compliance Planner for UK Commercial Property in 2026
Compliance & Regulation

Twelve Months, One Diary: A Practical Compliance Planner for UK Commercial Property in 2026

Compliance failures in commercial property rarely stem from ignorance of the rules; they stem from deadlines colliding in the same fortnight. This is the twelve-month planner we recommend to owners, occupiers and managing agents, using 2026 as the worked example — and it doubles neatly as the template for the year ahead.