Property specialists
The Government Property Agency is helping transform the way the Civil Service works and reshaping the relationship civil servants have with their place of work.
Your property partner
The Government Property Agency (the GPA) delivers property and workplace solutions across government. We are introducing a portfolio-led approach to managing central government general purpose property as a strategic asset. We will drive benefits through more efficient and effective use of the estate. We will do this through:
- Owning and operating the central government general purpose estate.
- Partnering with client departments to realise best value outcomes for the taxpayer, great workplaces and ways of working for civil servants.
The GPA is an enabler for the delivery of Civil Service transformation, and the Government’s priorities for regional growth and strengthening the Union.
We are a team of property experts, drawn from private and public sectors. We have a deep skillset and perform a broad range of estate management roles. We are proud to be civil servants, but we behave like a commercial real estate company. We bring commercial expertise and insight into the government central estate to help our clients meet their strategic goals – and use government’s strength to secure the best deals.
We are:
Asset manager
We manage the government’s central estate offices and warehouses
Landlord
Supporting government department clients as our tenants
Service provider
Providing workplace services to our government department clients
Strategic property advisor
Providing portfolio advice to support our clients’ objectives.
Our responsibilities
We deliver property and workplace solutions across government. Made up of a team of property experts, the GPA is responsible for delivering the property elements of the Government’s Civil Service Reform initiatives and to accelerating to Net Zero.
The GPA will transform the way property is managed in Government. It will do this by:
- partnering with departments as property professionals and trusted advisors to bring innovation and solutions that position real estate as an enabler of business delivery.
- taking a strategic portfolio approach to the non-specialist assets that are transferred to the agency from departments, through maximising utilisation and reducing costs, developing and delivering place-based strategies.
- deploying commercial property expertise in supplier negotiations to enhance value for Government and the taxpayer.
- delivering an effective fully integrated corporate real estate service, including estates and facilities management.
- developing and sharing specialist asset management and commercial advisory services with departments.
- improving the quality and transparency of data on the asset portfolio managed by the GPA to better inform asset management and commercial decision-making.
Our priorities
- improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the government estate.
- managing the central government general purpose property portfolio strategically to realise benefits that departments cannot achieve on their own.
- enhancing commercial expertise within government property to maximise capital receipts from the disposal of surplus assets and releasing land for productive use including housing.
- providing innovative and flexible property solutions to support departments in business change and workforce transformation.
- improving working environments on the government estate, supporting new ways of working, driving productivity and engagement.
Leesman+
The GPA is committed to delivering Great Places to Work. As part of ensuring we continue to deliver on our ambitions and that we remain a truly customer-centric organisation we carry out a Leesman survey in all our buildings.
When Leesman surveys close, the survey responses and results are calculated and the workplace gets a score out of 100. This score is called an Lmi (Leesman index), the higher the score, the better the workplace experience.
Leesman+ is only awarded to the top-tier workplaces that achieve a Lmi of 70 or above (and have a high enough response rate) and Birmingham, 23 Stephenson Street surpassed that, achieving a very impressive Lmi of 76. This is a huge achievement as only approx 150 out of 6,500 (2%) workplaces have achieved this.
To gain Leesman+ accreditation, Leesman need to be assured they are confident in the data and so have strict response rate criteria. We achieved this for Birmingham, 23 Stephenson Street and want to thank everyone involved in driving the response rates. We can now officially apply for Leesman+ accreditation and our Leesman+ trophy and certification to display in Stephenson Street. More information about Leesman+ certification.
On first review of Stephenson Street data we have already seen that results for pride, productivity and community, as well as many other services and features are incredibly positive and in many circumstances surpassed other Leesman+ workplaces.
The good news doesn’t stop there, despite not getting a high enough response rate for Leesman+ accreditation, our Darlington, Feethams House building did get an Lmi of 71.3, meaning that it also offers an outstanding workplace experience.
This is a huge achievement for us and recognises all the work that has been delivered right across the GPA. There are very few Leesman+ workplaces as this is not something that is easy to achieve. We have now placed ourselves as an elevated benchmark for other organisations to aspire to.
