EDR’s Managing Director, Market Research Group, shares her insights on the state of the environmental due diligence market, emerging trends and the strategic challenges faced by environmental consultants in today’s market.
Deals Under the Microscope
7/17/2008 | posted by
dcrocker
In a down market, every transaction that’s a little bit out of the ordinary—say, larger than the others—is held under the microscope. Today’s Wall Street Journal latched onto a deal by Australian shopping mall owner, Centro Properties Group, to sell 29 U.S. shopping centers as big news. First of all, deals topping more than $700 million are unusual these days with financing so hard to come by. (Sorry to say the buyer who coughed up the cash was an "undisclosed privat ...
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“You want your Phase I report by when?!” How many times have you wanted to say this to a client? But instead, you probably say confidently and reassuringly, “Sure, we can deliver a Phase I by then. Absolutely.” The sad reality is that if you don’t, the client might find someone else who can. Chances are that in early conversations with a prospective client, the question, “How long will this Phase I take you?” is second only to, “How much will this ...
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Those of you I’ve been talking to recently are understandably worried about how much longer this dip in the commercial real estate market is going to last. I’ve heard some of you say things like, “I guess we’ll just have to wait it out” or “The market’s cyclical. Things will turn up eventually.” Both true—however, they seem to imply a sense that you have no control over your business…that you’re going to take this lying down and ...
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Well, I was in the midst of writing a blog about the uncertainties of market forecasting when I got detoured by a Wall Street Journal article about a development project overseas. Seems Donald Trump is trying to push through plans to build a $2 billion golf resort on an undeveloped site on the northern Scottish coastline. Although Trump has the backing of many local business leaders, he’s getting pushback from local environmentalists who are concerned about what the golf resort will do to ...
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So, now that investors are petrified of real estate risk and the deal environment has gotten a lot more conservative, that means environmental due diligence is getting the attention it deserves, right? Not so fast. I just received a distressing article from Elizabeth Krol, a valued member of the commonground advisory panel.
The piece, published in the latest edition of M&A magazine, is based on the premise that comprehensive, thorough due diligence improves the risk equation for a potential ...
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I put this blog in the “what is this world coming to?” category. If you’re already in a bad mood, you might want to save it for another day.
I just saw something I never thought I’d see. A coupon for a Phase I environmental site assessment. That’s right!
All the standard “coupon” language was there: one per customer, the words “limited time only,” expiration date, and of course there were limits to its applicability. It was only good on sma ...
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I just came off our Due Diligence at Dawn tour in Dallas, Houston and Charlotte. What are EPs buzzing about more than any other topic? You guessed it. Price!
If you had to pick just one, what most commonly drives decisions about how much environmental due diligence is conducted on a particular transaction? Right again, price! Based on the results of last week’s commonground poll, 44% of you picked price over other factors like risk tolerance, time, property location and planned use of pr ...
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Is anyone out there wondering how the first quarter shook out in the Phase I ESA market? Here’s the sobering news: 1Q08 results were down 15% compared to 1Q07. Before you get too depressed, remember that transaction flow this time last year was at an all-time record high. According to Real Capital Analytics, transaction flows (in dollar value) by March 2007 had more than doubled where they were just six months prior. What a difference a year can make! In the first quarter of ’07, cre ...
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In today’s fast-paced environment, we’re all faced with time constraints, both in our professional and personal lives. This means we’re forever making choices about how to spend our time and what to prioritize. So, when confronted with something new, it’s natural to ask: “What’s in it for me?” The concept of an online community like CommonGround is a new concept so it’s natural for many of you to ask: “Why should I share my ideas? Why should ...
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The Phase I environmental site assessment industry has a PR problem. Consultants, attorneys and lenders alike all routinely complain about the poor quality reports that some EPs are passing off for Phase Is today. Years ago, during the AAI negotiations, there was no shortage of stories around the table about Phase Is that didn’t meet the ASTM standard. The hope was that the AAI rule could improve the quality of work out there. Well now, more than one year after the AAI rule took effect, co ...
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