Lease management
Banking network
New Zealand
How proactive lease management took $2.4M out of a national bank’s property costs
The result
$2.4M
Rent reviews, OPEX and critical dates managed across 320 branch leases and 500 ATM leases: the in-house track record behind Proactive Property Group’s lease management for tenants.
cut from property costs across ANZ and National Bank’s branch and ATM network over 3 years, around 5%, while the network kept growing.
At a glance
Portfolio
ANZ & National Bank retail property (Marcus’s in-house role)
Sector
Banking (branch & ATM network)
Scale
320 branch leases + 500 ATM leases
Service
Lease management (rent reviews, OPEX, critical dates)
The result
~$2.4M in savings, around 5%, over 3 years
The situation
A national branch network, and a lease bill that only grew
Before founding Proactive Property Group, Marcus ran the retail property team responsible for ANZ and National Bank’s branches and ATMs across New Zealand: a portfolio of 320 branch leases and 500 ATM leases.
A portfolio that size is one of an organisation’s largest costs, and it never sits still. Branches open, close and move. Rent reviews and renewals fall due constantly. OPEX charges arrive from hundreds of landlords. Run on autopilot, a portfolio like that leaks money every year.
What was at stake
A lease you file and forget is a lease that overcharges you
Most tenants treat a signed lease as done: filed in the bottom drawer, looked at only when a rent review or expiry lands. Across one lease that’s a risk. Across hundreds, it’s a serious cost.
Miss a renewal notice and you can lose the right to occupy. Skip the OPEX reconciliation and you pay for charges you never agreed to. Let rent reviews go unchallenged and above-market rent locks in for years. Multiply any one of those across a national network, and it’s real money leaving the business.
The bigger the portfolio, the more a passive approach costs. And a bank opening branches was adding cost with every one.
What we did
Manage every lease as a live financial asset, not a filed document
The approach was structured lease management across the whole portfolio, run as an active function rather than a filing system.
01
Abstract and track every lease
Turned hundreds of leases into clear summaries with every critical date tracked: rent reviews, renewals, notice periods and obligations, so nothing slipped.
02
Manage the rent reviews
Assessed and challenged rent reviews rather than accepting them, holding increases down across the portfolio.
03
Audit the OPEX
Reviewed landlord OPEX and outgoings for accuracy, catching overcharges and recovering what wasn’t owed. The rule of thumb: no annual OPEX reconciliation means you’re probably due a refund.
04
Own the landlord relationships
Acted as the single point of contact with landlords and managing agents, and kept every lease fit-for-purpose as the network changed.
The result
$2.4M out of the cost base in 3 years, while the network grew
Managed this way, across the ANZ and National Bank portfolio:
$2.4M in property cost savings
Across the ANZ and National Bank branch and ATM network.
Around 5% off the cost base
Delivered over a 3-year period.
Savings while still expanding
Costs cut even as new branches were added to the network.
Rent increases held down
Reviews challenged and managed, not rubber-stamped.
OPEX overcharges recovered
Landlord charges audited and corrected.
Critical dates never missed
Renewals and reviews managed on time, protecting tenure and leverage.
They came from managing every lease, every review and every OPEX charge, consistently, across the whole portfolio.
That’s the discipline Proactive Property Group now brings to tenants, whether you hold one lease or a hundred.
If your lease is in the bottom drawer
A lease is a list of dates, charges and obligations that keeps costing you until someone manages it. Rent reviews to challenge, OPEX to check, renewal notices to hit. Do that across every lease you hold and the savings compound. Leave it filed away, and you keep paying for the privilege.
About the adviser
Marcus Bosch
Marcus has spent 20 years in commercial property, including leading the retail property team for ANZ and National Bank’s national branch and ATM network before founding Proactive Property Group. He now brings that portfolio-scale lease management to tenants across New Zealand and the East Coast of Australia, acting only for tenants, never landlords.
More about Marcus and Proactive Property Group →
More proof
Related case studies
$2.4M cut from ANZ and National Bank’s property portfolio
cut from property costs across ANZ and National Bank’s branch and ATM network over 3 years, around 5%, while the network kept growing.
This was lease management at scale. It’s one stage of our commercial lease advisory Services.
- Lease management
- Negotiate lease
- Exit & relocation
Is your lease costing more than it should?
Rent reviews go unchallenged, OPEX goes unaudited, and critical dates slip. Whether it’s one lease or a portfolio, let me review where your money’s leaking, and manage it so it stops.