Office Development Real Estate Finance Project Taken on by Young Employees Yusuke Ezawa, Assistant Manager, Real Estate Finance Business Div.
Atsushi Senoo, Chief, Corporate Business Div. Ⅱ

Fuyo General Lease is developing an office building of approximately 5000 m2 in Tenyamachi, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka through an SPC it established together with The Sankei Building Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Sankei Building). Two young employees were mainly responsible for developing this real estate financing project that required a lot of risk management.

――How did this project start?

Senoo In general, the real estate investment business for office buildings is focused on the Tokyo area, but in recent years, we are also looking at areas outside of Tokyo with high office demand, such as Fukuoka. In addition, Sankei Building, a real estate developer of the Fuji Sankei Group, develops office buildings, condominiums, hotels, and facilities for seniors in various parts of Japan, and is one of the companies that is working to develop the Fukuoka area. So, this project is one example of our efforts in this context.
We have been doing business with Sankei Building for several years now. So far, we’ve been working on multiple projects together, and we’ve gradually gained a better understanding of each other’s potential needs and how we proceed with our work. As a result of our ongoing efforts to meet the expectations of Sankei Building, we have been able to establish a good relationship, and we believe this is why they consulted us about this project.

――What was the content of the consultation?

Ezawa The project location is a 2-minute walk from Fukuoka City Subway Gofukumachi Station. At that time, they were still in the stage of securing the land, so they told us about the project at an early stage. They wanted us to co-invest with a partner who had a development track record and who could quickly assess the development plans for the project, and that is why they came to Fuyo General Lease.
This project is not an existing property, so the tenant is not confirmed, and multiple conditions had to be verified. Sankei Building wanted a quick reply from us on whether or not we could take part.
There were some irregular conditions, but our corporate slogan is, “Go where no one has gone before.” Instead of declining because we did not have prior experience, we began to proactively consider ways to work together internally to overcome the challenges.

――How did you respond to the customer’s request?

Ezawa We quickly assessed the risks. We assessed the risks in detail for each element, such as whether the market conditions in the local area were good, whether the planned rent was appropriate, and how the various conditions compared to the surrounding office buildings.
The difficulty with these tasks was that when only one person is doing the work, the way in which the information they learn can be used is limited. However, Fuyo General Lease has a lot of senior staff and bosses with a rich track record, and the information was shared extensively among the team. Thanks to this culture, I think we were able to meet the needs of the customer for this project.

Senoo I don’t want to show off, but the Real Estate Finance Business Div. works very fast. This means that corporate sales is able to respond quickly to its customers and make our relationships of trust even stronger.
Sankei Building is an extremely important customer for Fuyo General Lease. I am still young, so I cannot understand all the information on my own, and I am constantly working together with my manager and the Real Estate Finance Business Div.

――Currently, the building is still under development, but how is the project proceeding?

Ezawa Since we were consulted prior to the actual construction of the office building, we also made a proposal as a co-investor to create an environment that is easy for tenants to enter. For example, we held consultations and had meetings based on our previous experience, such as the floor layout and the position of the pillars.

――How do you view the future development?

Ezawa The office building is on track to be completed in February 2023. We plan to continue to hold meetings regarding future operations, but we would like to judge with Sankei Building while utilizing the shared know-how of the Real Estate Finance Business Div. during the phases of operations and sales, etc.

Senoo Since last year, Sankei Building has been using the BPO service provided by Fuyo General Lease. Taking advantage of the new connections made here, we would like to propose suitable services and products to other departments and group companies. By expanding horizontally, we would like to further enhance our presence in Sankei Building.