Commercial real estate security – How to secure your property

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Why security threats to your Commercial Real Estate (CRE) assets are all too real

Any CRE asset that houses multiple tenants or where the public gathers in large volumes, brings the challenge of keeping people safe. Effective risk management is critical, but it demands a cohesive and holistic approach to identifying and managing security risks.

Such threats may be (somewhat) predictable such as extreme weather, or more unpredictable such as crime or terrorism. Whatever the cause commercial real estate security is of the upmost importance. Find out everything you need to know to secure your CRE space, including the hard stats, expert opinions and proven strategies to help you stay ahead.

The UK’s retail security predicament

Shoplifting incidents doubled between 2023 and 2024 to 16.7 million, according to the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) Crime Survey 2024 at a cost that has also doubled to £1.8 billion. According to the Office of National Statistics, instances of shoplifting remain at their highest level in 20 years, up 30% for the year ended March 2024.

The figures also show an increase in violence and abuse against shopworkers, up from 870 cases a day to 1,300 in 2024 or nearly half a billion incidents a year, according to the BRC. A rise in organized retail crime (ORC) is largely to blame.

College of Policing’s guidance

The CoP outlined measures to improve the investigation of retail and business crime which gives retailers a crime reduction toolkit. This includes guidance on shopworker safety, including training videos you can incorporate into your strategy.

In the UK there have been 15 domestic terror attacks since 2017, according to UK government figures, while 39 late-stage plots have been disrupted. The US was the victim of 16 attacks in 2023, according to the GTI. Meanwhile, the Middle East and North Africa, alongside sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, accounted for 94% of all 2023 terrorism deaths.

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The financial impact of theft

As well as the profound physical and emotional damage to victims and survivors, there’s the economic cost. In 2023, the UK government estimated a total direct cost of £171.8 million for the five terror attacks that took place in the UK in 2017.

David Fuller-Watts CEO at kinexio, says:

“The immediate financial risks can be easy to calculate but it’s the follow-on costs that can be devastating. If your reputation is tainted with the view you have an unsafe environment, people won’t come and stores won’t open. We’ve heard of staff refusing to open stores due to feeling unsafe, and this issue needs to be tackled from the inside out.”

Martyn’s Law – The UK solution

Martyn’s Law will be introduced as part of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill that will enhance protection against terrorism in public spaces. Named after Martyn Hett, a victim of the 2017 Manchester Arena attack, this law mandates that all public venues with a capacity of more than 100 people must implement training and security measures to prevent terrorist attacks. The legislation classifies venues into two tiers based on their capacity. Each tier will have specific duties to ensure safety, including risk assessments and practical security measures​

Meanwhile in the US, the Department of Homeland Security launched its “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign in July 2010 in conjunction with the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative, which produces various campaign materials specific to states or jurisdictions. 14 years on the campaign remains as strong as ever

• See also: Preparing for Martyn’s Law

Developing a comprehensive retail security strategy

Landsec takes the threat of terrorism very seriously and have implemented a comprehensive risk management framework to address this threat.

Our Security and Resilience function for the Landsec portfolio is led by a Director of Security and Resilience. He provides the Landsec Board with the required assurance, audit and accountability of the ongoing security and resilience of the portfolio.

We are confident to say we are a business leader within the UK for Security and Resilience; we have developed close working relationship and influence with the UK Government, Security Services and UK policing. We continue to influence the shape of security related legislation and best practice. Indeed or Director chairs several Home Office and policing Boards looking at new legislation for example Martyn’s Law.

We are acutely aware of the potential risks of terrorism within our publicly accessible locations which include significant office buildings and a large portfolio of retail shopping centres. We recognize that owning and managing properties in high-profile locations necessitates a proactive and robust approach to security and safety.

Approach to building security and safety

With regularity we risk assess our properties addressing any areas we feel might have vulnerabilities. Together with our partners we have advanced security technology with clear protocols in place to detect and deter potential threats.

We invest in state-of-the-art security technologies and procedures, including surveillance systems, access control, and emergency response mechanisms, to ensure the safety of our properties, our customers, and guests and of course our teams.

Our teams are well trained. We actively engage with our stakeholders, including customers, brands, employees, and local communities, to foster a culture of awareness and preparedness. Regular training sessions and exercises are conducted at site level to ensure our Brand Partners and customers know how to respond to an incident.

We continuously review and improve our strategies and processes to ensure they remain effective and relevant in the face of evolving threats.

Costly impact of weather events in the US

Weather events can be more extreme in the US. It suffered 19 confirmed weather/climate disasters accounting for more than $1 billion in losses each in the first half of 2024 (to August 8), according to figures from the National Centers for Environmental Information.

These included tornados, hurricanes and wildfires in addition to severe storms. In 2023, there were 28 events in total, costing $94.9 billion and accounting for nearly 500 deaths.

Unprecedented rainfall in the Middle East

Meanwhile in the Middle East, intense flash floods occurred in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates and Oman in April 2024 when a year and a half’s worth of rain fell in one day. Flagship shopping centers Dubai Mall and the Mall of the Emirates were among the many CRE centers which experienced flooding.

Although there is often a reluctance to draw a direct link between climate change and extreme environmental events, it’s known to increase their regularity and severity. In the case of the Dubai storms, scientists from the World Weather Attribution group cited climate change as the cause for the record rainfall to be 10-40% heavier.

“Hurricanes and earthquakes are part of the disaster management process for buildings in high-risk areas. Having robust policies, staff training and communication for evacuation helps people escape serious harm. But these protocols shouldn’t just be for high-risk areas. Commercial spaces hold a responsibility to prepare for the unexpected, and showing they are prepared helps to breed trust within their communities.”

David Fuller-Watts
CEO, Kinexio

Mitigating extreme weather across the Landsec portfolio

Retail Director Central London and Outlets at Landsec

“At Landsec we identify and assess the transitional and physical risks and opportunities associated with climate change and consider these over the short, medium and long term for two science-based scenarios – below 2 degrees celsius and exceeding 4.

Through this analysis, we have assessed that our current portfolio is fortunately not highly exposed to aggregated physical risks (extreme cold, extreme heat, flooding, windstorms and wildfire). The most significant physical risk to our portfolio is from coastal flooding.

However, we still act to mitigate these risks through physical measures, insurance, and business continuity planning and in the past few years, we’ve learned from some extreme weather events which have included flooding, snow and high winds which have helped us evolve our adaptation plans.

Across our operational portfolio, assets in areas highly exposed to physical risks have developed plans to ensure they have adequate protection and mitigation, including business-continuity and emergency response plans. In order to protect our properties, we have invested in resilient infrastructure, ensuring our buildings can withstand extreme weather events. This includes reinforcing structures, improving drainage systems, and using materials that can endure harsh conditions.

To ensure we can proactively respond to extreme weather events minimising disruption and ensuring the safety of our Brands, Occupier in Office Space, Guest and our Teams each property has a comprehensive emergency response plan in place, which are regularly reviewed and tested.”

Building a secure future

“Through our development pipeline, we are designing and constructing high-quality buildings and spaces capable of achieving operational resilience over their lifetime, considering how the UK’s climate will change in the coming decades.

We manage the impact of physical risks, such as higher cooling costs and lower heating demand, by adapting building services design, reducing heating capacity and maintaining summer cooling capacity to cope with heatwaves.

The performance of our façade and fabric materials is designed to address the expected higher temperatures by minimising energy demand, as well as to withstand extreme temperatures and increased wind speeds, to avoid maintenance issues or damage to buildings in future.

We target operational energy intensities in line with industry net zero carbon benchmarks, wherever available. Our drainage strategies are designed to mitigate foreseen rain levels and flood risks using physical and nature-based solutions.

As detailed in our nature strategy, Let Nature In, we consider nature-based solutions for reducing energy use and adapting to future climate scenarios such as façade and rooftop greening, sustainable urban drainage and permeable surfaces.

By addressing these key areas, Landsec demonstrates its commitment to maintaining safe and resilient commercial and retail spaces, and we report progress annually in our Task Force for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) statement which can be found on pg. 36 of our Annual Report.”