Derwent London plc increases agility with Investment Modeling
As a real estate investment trust (REIT) in the UK, Derwent London plc owns and manages a £5 billion portfolio compromising six million square feet. Primarily located in London’s West End, the portfolio includes approximately 100 properties and 900 units with a mix of tenants across different industries. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 250.
Business Challenge and Solution
As a result of a merger in 2007 between Derwent Valley Holdings plc and London Merchant Securities plc to form Derwent London plc, the company’s portfolio doubled overnight. The previous analytical tools were no longer sufficient to support the larger-sized portfolio. Derwent London was using two different systems to analyse the portfolio and to carry out financial forecasts with no direct integration with the accounting system, which led to inefficient flow of data and restricted analytical ability. In addition, there was a requirement to be able to model the impact of multiple scenarios in a timelier manner. Derwent London saw this as an opportunity to review the reporting and asset management tools within the organisation with the aim of achieving further efficiencies and improvements in analytical capabilities. Derwent London replaced two of its systems with Investment Modeling from MRI Software. The solution is the firm’s core system, which provides a central database of the portfolio and is used for asset management, annual budgeting, quarterly forecasting, modelling the financial impact of various scenarios, biannual reporting, and analysing the portfolio.
MRI’s Investment Modeling gives us the speed and agility to run multiple scenarios quickly and make informed decisions faster.
Jennifer Whybrow, Head of Financial Planning & Analysis, CTO
Derwent London plc
Business Impact
Derwent London uses Investment Modeling to support its annual budgeting cycle and five-year strategic plan and to help make decisions that shape the future of its investments.
Improved data quality and efficiency
With forecast versus actual data in one system and all users working off the same database, Derwent London can generate reliable reports and model the impact of scenarios accurately and efficiently.
Flexibility
Users can create reports without requiring assistance from MRI Software, allowing them to be self-sufficient and adapt the firm’s reporting requirements to market trends.
Increased scenario modelling
Derwent London uses Investment Modeling to calculate and publish scenarios typically within a few hours, which previously took several days. This enables the firm to consider the impact of more scenarios and make more informed decisions.