JLL Assists Shenzhen Ali Center to be Benchmark of Office Leasing

Alibaba and JLL, therefore, created a market-first “ package contract” cooperation model, in which JLL acts as “Party A” and is fully responsible for the project, including marketing, leasing agency and a full process of contract management with various vendors as well as agencies.

Shenzhen Ali Center, the first flagship project of Alibaba Group's modern park-style ecological office, is located in the center of Houhai Headquarters Base, with a total construction area of around 120,000 m². Its four towers and attached podium are connected to one another via corridors. 

It is particularly important to cope with the competition and lead the market considering the huge supply of office space in Shenzhen. Alibaba and JLL, therefore, created a market-first “ package contract” cooperation model, in which JLL acts as “Party A” and is fully responsible for the project, including marketing, leasing agency and a full process of contract management with various vendors as well as agencies.

After the official launch of the project, JLL assisted Alibaba to simultaneously operate a number of business lines. This included: 

• Designing, producing, and installing marketing materials such as project models, pamphlets, and videos

• Preparing for exhibition centers activities 

• Establishing internal management process of Alibaba real estate operations

• Drawing up templates of leasing letters of intent, lease contracts, and other legal texts  

• Combing target client list and pay visits

• On-site team preparation work

Eventually, leasing project was highly successful through the joint efforts of both parties. As one of the earliest completed projects in the Houhai Area, in spite of the inadequate infrastructure, it achieved a pre-rental rate of 53% on the day of delivery, and full occupancy eight months after that. Ali Center project is doing significantly better than other similar projects, judging from whether its occupancy rate, average rent, or the quality of tenants. Besides, high-tech enterprises are the dominant tenants, followed by those from the finance industry, which matches Shenzhen’s position as center for innovation and finance. 

In view of JLL’s outstanding performance in marketing, leasing agency services and a series of other work, after the cooperation agreement expired, Alibaba continued to entrust JLL with a third term of cooperation on the project lease and operation management. JLL will continue to discover projects’ features, develop customized and forward-facing solutions for Alibaba. 

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