Building & Facilities Manager Appointments for CEG

About CEG

Commercial Estates Group (CEG) is a UK property investment, development and asset management business with a portfolio of over 100 properties, including commercial properties and business destinations across the country. Its stated purpose goes beyond constructing and managing physical space: CEG sets out to create environments where the businesses in its buildings can thrive and the people using them can flourish. That commitment shapes how it recruits for its site and portfolio facilities roles.

Our work with CEG

• Building Manager for one of CEG's key properties in Luton.
• Facilities Manager covering multiple assets across CEG's Birmingham portfolio.

Building Manager, Luton

CEG needed a Building Manager who could uphold its standards on site: a high level of customer service for occupiers, efficient day-to-day operations, and proactive management of every aspect of the building rather than a reactive, job-by-job approach.

A single-site Building Manager role of this kind is more demanding than it looks. The manager is the landlord's face to every tenant, the first point of contact when something goes wrong, and the person responsible for keeping subcontracted services, inspections and compliance on track without a large team. Candidates with the operational experience are not always the ones with the service instinct, and CEG could not compromise on either.

We analysed CEG's requirements in detail so the search was measured against what the role actually needed, then looked for candidates who had the experience and also showed a genuine commitment to service and a proactive, leadership-minded approach to running a building.

The appointee brought substantial facilities and building management experience, a strong customer service focus and solid organisational and managerial skills. On taking up the post they took responsibility for all aspects of property management at the site. Their approach to customer management built lasting tenant relationships, supporting satisfaction and retention; their management of subcontracted services produced more efficient processes and cost savings; and rigorous inspection protocols kept the property meeting its regulatory requirements.

"We are immensely grateful to Maxwell Stephens for their exceptional recruitment services. The candidate they provided has proven to be an invaluable asset to our team, consistently delivering outstanding results and upholding our commitment to excellence. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Maxwell Stephens for all our future recruitment needs."

CEG Management Team

Facilities Manager, Birmingham Portfolio

To support the performance of its Birmingham portfolio, CEG asked us to recruit a Facilities Manager to lead facilities operations across a group of high-profile commercial properties. The role covered multi-site hard and soft services, contractor and supplier management, health, safety and statutory compliance, service charge and budget management, occupier engagement, operational risk, sustainability and environmental initiatives, facilities software and performance reporting, team leadership, and project support and continuity planning.

The difficulty with a brief this broad is balance. Portfolio-level FM candidates tend to be strong either on operational delivery or on commercial awareness and stakeholder management; this role needed both, across multiple assets, service providers and stakeholder groups at once.

We worked with CEG to define the portfolio, operational requirements and strategic objectives, then searched our facilities and property management network for people with multi-site commercial property experience, hard and soft services, service charge management, compliance, sustainability and ESG, and occupier experience. Candidates were assessed on property management expertise, financial and budgetary control, contractor performance management, compliance and governance, stakeholder engagement, sustainability awareness and leadership.

We placed an experienced Facilities Manager with a strong background in commercial property operations and multi-site FM, holding IWFM membership and IOSH certification. They took ownership of facilities operations across the portfolio and, working with occupiers, contractors and internal stakeholders, aligned day-to-day activity with CEG's investment, asset management and property performance objectives.

Why it worked

In both searches the requirement was defined with CEG up front, covering the service and commercial sides of the role as well as the technical. For the Luton post that meant assessing for service instinct and proactivity from the outset; for the Birmingham portfolio it meant testing for commercial and stakeholder capability alongside operational credentials, rather than leaving that side to chance.

If you are recruiting a Building Manager for a tenant-facing property or a Facilities Manager across a commercial portfolio, get in touch with our team.