Case Study: Location of Corporate Headquarters

Location of Corporate Headquarters

AllSafe Bank corporate headquarters is centrally located at the city centre. It is housed in a 40-floor office block. It occupies the 1st 5 floors and the top 3 floors of the building. The building was built some 30 years ago and has undergone major retrofit over the years. This includes the building façade and an upgrade of the electrical system some 5 years ago. The HQs premise was rented on a long term lease expiring in 3 years’ time. Tenants on other floors include trading houses, corporate HQs of MNCs and international consultancies. Most of them are on long term lease but there is the occasional relocation and new tenants’ movement.

Physical security is outsourced by the building owner to a reputable local security organization. 24x7 access is strictly controlled by smart ID cards. This includes access to the some of the floors via elevators. Visitors need to sign in at the front counter. Fire drill and evacuation is conducted as per local regulation on a yearly basis.

Nearby facilities include a mega shopping mall diagonally across its front/main access road. Two blocks further down sites a 5 star hotel. Embassies are located in vicinity 2 streets away. Some governmental agencies are located towards the end of the front/main access road some 2km away. Other major banking and financial institutions are also cited within 5 to 10 minutes walking distance. The city metro line runs on an elevated platform adjacent to its front/main access road, stopping some 50 metres away from its main entrance. Traffic condition along its main access road is typical of any metropolitan city – heavy and congested during peak hours.

The nearest fire station and police station are located at the outskirt of the city some 5km away. Depending on traffic conditions typical response and travel time is ½ hour upon a call to arrival at the HQs premise. Besides privately operated clinics spread out throughout the city the nearest hospital is some 25km away.

The city itself has grown and mushroomed over the years, stressing on its infrastructure and public services. To illustrate, the city centre suffered its major flood in years last December. Major roads were inundated for ½ day, causing major disruptions and discontent among businesses and commuters alike. The local authority has promised a thorough review of the drainage system but it would be a tough challenge given the heavily build up city areas and already 75% of the drainage system are already built underground.

What was termed as the city outskirt 5 years ago is now part of the city. There is a growing chronic demand on office space. In response, the local authority has allocated an area some 15 to 20km up north as the new ‘sister’ city as part of its long term urban planning but red tape and local opposition has slowed its development considerably. In the meantime a number of businesses are relocating all or parts of their business operations to an old industrial park some 30km down south. This however leads to issues such as the occasional power outage. The road system was also not designed to handle the additional capacity. The local urban planning authority is also not keen to revamp the infrastructure given its focus on the new ‘sister’ city up north.

The city is cosmopolitan, welcoming diverse nationalities and workforce. Visitors and tourists like to stay in its hotels and ventured to it scenic attractions on its outskirt. Enclaves of nationalities can be found in selected areas of the city. The crime rate is typically of any major city in the world but the local police force has so far managed to keep crime and illegal immigrants in check.