FAQ Frequently Asked Questions

An adviser adds the most value when strategic decisions need to be made. For example, when a lease is approaching expiry, when an organisation is expanding or downsizing, or when ways of working are changing. Independent advice is also essential in cases of lease renegotiations, mergers or sustainability challenges. Parella looks beyond the rental rate alone. We help you make decisions that are financially sound, functionally aligned and future ready.

We look beyond the base rent alone. We also assess service charges, lease term, flexibility and fit out costs. By analysing the full scope of the agreement, we often realise substantial savings over the entire lease period without compromising on quality or functionality. In our negotiations and financial analyses, we focus on:

• Rental level and incentives, such as rent free periods or landlord contributions.
• Lease term, tenant break options and rent review mechanisms.
• Delivery condition and limitations on annual indexation.
• Services and provisions included by the landlord. In addition, we optimise legal and operational clauses that can have significant financial impact, including:
• Application of statutory defect provisions.
• Subletting and assignment rights.
• No reinstatement obligation upon exit.
• Signage and branding rights on the building.
• Timely and transparent settlement of service charges. By incorporating all these elements into our comparison and negotiation process, and by using our Creasy tool to provide insight into total cost and CO₂ impact, we consistently secure stronger commercial terms for our clients, often delivering savings of 10 to 25 percent over the total lease duration.

We act exclusively on behalf of tenants. This means we have no conflicting interests with landlords, property managers or investors. We are engaged and paid solely by our client, ensuring that every recommendation is made in your best interest. This leads to clear negotiations, full transparency and stronger lease terms. Our success is directly linked to the outcome you achieve, not to the number of transactions we close for landlords.

Yes, absolutely. Remaining in your current premises is often the most cost efficient option, provided the lease is thoroughly reassessed and renegotiated. We benchmark the market rent, identify optimisation opportunities such as lease term, rent free periods, service charges and flexibility, and use market data as a negotiation lever. With a strong alternative scenario developed through our Creasy tool, we maintain negotiating pressure and create room for improved commercial terms.

Ideally, you should start 9 to 12 months before the expiry date of the current lease term. This allows sufficient time to explore the market, compare alternatives and negotiate from a well informed position. For smaller spaces or straightforward renewals, 4 to 6 months may be sufficient. However, starting early gives you control over the process and significantly reduces the risk of overpaying.

Workplace Consultancy at Parella determines how large a building should be and which layout fits best. This ranges from high-level considerations such as the minimum size of an office floor and whether it should be narrow and long or wide and compact to detailed aspects, like how many workstations, phone booths, and small and large meeting rooms are needed, and what their dimensions should be. Think of it as a shopping list for finding the most suitable building, or as a briefing to start an interior design. A well-aligned workplace concept ensures that neither too much nor too little space is leased, and that the interior design is not only visually appealing but also functional.

Roughly speaking, the process takes six to eight weeks. The first two weeks are dedicated to gathering information and distributing the survey. In the following week, we schedule the interviews. Around three weeks later, we deliver a draft version for review and discussion. The final timeline depends on the client’s availability and how quickly the required information is provided by the client.

Workplace Consultancy is valuable when there is a change in the lease term or within the organization itself. When a lease period is coming to an end, an opportunity arises to increase or reduce the number of square meters, ensuring that the accommodation better aligns with the organization’s needs. Organizational growth, downsizing, or changes in the way people work also have a direct impact on housing requirements.

A workplace consultant translates these changes into concrete spatial needs or into a different, more efficient use of the existing square meters in the current office. In addition, Workplace Consultancy is valuable when an organization wants to actively involve employees in the process, helping to build support for an upcoming change.

A key benefit of Workplace Consultancy is that the justification of space requirements is approached in an analytical way. By using data from surveys, occupancy measurements, and benchmarks, an objective and well-founded picture emerges of how the workplace is actually used. In addition, Parella’s workplace consultants, as an external party, are able to ask critical questions and challenge existing assumptions or “sacred cows.” They do this, among other things, by using diagrams and maps, which helps keep discussions at a strategic level rather than getting lost in details. For organizations with multiple locations, Parella’s workplace consultants can also develop a blueprint that can be applied to every new site. This creates consistency across office locations, makes it possible to find a suitable building or realize an interior design more quickly, and ultimately leads to cost savings.

Parella sets itself apart by ensuring that its workplace consultants always work closely with interior designers and commercial specialists. This keeps the advice realistic and feasible, and prevents plans from being presented that cannot be realized in practice. In addition, Parella works in a concise and visual way: all insights and results are literally translated into drawings and clearly summarized on just three pages. This makes it easy to share the outcomes internally, without the need for extensive explanations or lengthy reports.

Parella’s workplace consultants also bring a wealth of experience. For example, the managing director was already involved in the emergence of “new ways of working” in 1996 and has witnessed all developments firsthand, from cellular offices and open-plan offices to hybrid working. As a result, the advice is not driven by trends, but is always tailored to what truly fits the organization.

For the workplace survey, Parella uses a benchmark of more than 10,000 respondents, allowing results to be compared with general data and enabling deeper analysis by factors such as age, department, or length of service. Finally, Parella’s Workplace Consultancy is particularly well suited for international deployment. Because the number of site visits is limited to one or two, the process can easily be rolled out across multiple European countries. English is the standard working language, but the survey can also be offered in the local language.

At Parella, Design and Build means we manage the entire process from strategic advice and workplace concept to delivery and handover. We begin by defining the right approach and project parameters, translate these into a clear and functional design, and subsequently manage procurement and execution. Acting as the main contractor, we take full responsibility for the project, providing one dedicated point of contact and ensuring delivery within the agreed timeline and budget.

An integrated approach is particularly valuable when you have limited time or internal capacity to manage multiple stakeholders, or when quality, planning and budget need to be closely controlled. Parella can fully coordinate the build phase, including permits, tendering and supplier selection. This provides you with one point of contact, one aligned schedule and one accountable party for design, costs, quality and delivery, ensuring an efficient, transparent and well managed process with controlled risk.

The design process moves from general to detailed.

• Concept design: we gather input such as drawings, brand guidelines, and requirements, and present an initial floor plan including mood boards and the overall look and feel.
• Preliminary design: we refine the concept, further specify materials, furniture, and custom elements (such as reception desks or meeting areas), and prepare an initial cost estimate.
• Final design: we fully develop the colors, materials, lighting, and dimensions, including 3D visualizations, a timeline, and a detailed budget. This is followed by the realization phase, during which our project managers supervise execution, procurement, and quality control through to final delivery.

We work in a co creative way. Through interactive workshops, we gather input on vision, brand identity and functional requirements, supported by mood boards and reference imagery. At each design stage, we present clear visual concepts rather than lengthy reports. You receive concise drawings, layouts and material overviews that allow for immediate feedback and discussion. This ensures you remain closely involved throughout the process, with space to refine and adjust along the way, resulting in a workplace design that genuinely reflects your organisation.

The timeline depends on the size and complexity of the project, but on average a full design and delivery phase takes between 6 and 9 months. For larger or phased projects, this can extend to around 12 months. Because we prepare design and execution in parallel, we are able to move efficiently without compromising on quality or budget control. After handover, we remain involved. We resolve any outstanding completion items and return after 100 days to evaluate the space together and ensure everything functions as intended.

Yes. Parella supports organisations with lease acquisitions, renegotiations and strategic real estate advice across Europe. From the Netherlands, we coordinate the entire process and collaborate with carefully selected local tenant representation partners in every major European city. This way, you benefit from in depth local market expertise while maintaining one single point of contact and one consistent approach across all countries.

Yes. Through our international tenant representation network, we support projects in North America, Asia and the Middle East. We remain your central point of contact and ensure that our international partners work according to the same Parella approach: independent, transparent and fully focused on achieving the best possible outcome for the tenant.

Our key advantage is that we exclusively represent tenants worldwide. We have no interests in leasing, property management or investment activities in other countries. This allows us to provide fully objective advice on the best locations, commercial terms and lease structures. We work with consistent comparison formats and reporting standards, ensuring you receive the same level of insight, transparency and quality anywhere in the world, independent of local brokerage interests.

We collaborate exclusively with carefully vetted tenant representation firms that share our way of working and our commitment to independence. These partners understand local regulations, market dynamics and cultural nuances, while reporting through us. Parella remains responsible for overall coordination, planning and communication, ensuring you retain one single point of contact wherever in the world you operate.

Yes, we can. In collaboration with our local partners and international design and build teams, we coordinate both the design and delivery phases. Parella oversees the concept, planning, budget and quality, ensuring the result aligns with your organisation’s international brand identity and workplace standards. This way, you combine strong local execution with central control and clear governance.