The OPG — Operations, Property & Governance Practical guides for UK SMEs: ops, property, governance.

The OPG — Operations, Property & Governance

Practical guides for UK SMEs: ops, property, governance.

Latest Articles

Arm's Length, On the Record: Governing Premises the Company Rents from Its Own Director
Governance & Compliance

Arm's Length, On the Record: Governing Premises the Company Rents from Its Own Director

Where a UK SME trades from a building owned personally by a director, a family trust or a connected company, the property decision and the governance decision are rarely the same thing. This guide sets out a practical routine for evidencing rent, allocating obligations, declaring interests and preparing the arrangement for succession or sale — with a board-minute checklist and the red flags worth watching.
The Sum Insured Is a Board Number: Evidencing Reinstatement Cover for UK Premises
Governance & Compliance

The Sum Insured Is a Board Number: Evidencing Reinstatement Cover for UK Premises

Buildings insurance renews quietly, but the figure at its centre is a governance decision. This guide explains how UK SME owner-occupiers and landlords can commission a reinstatement cost assessment, record the board's rationale and keep the sum insured aligned with lease events, fit-outs and construction inflation.
The Quiet Capital Call: Auditing EPC Exposure Across an SME Property Holding
Property & Leases

The Quiet Capital Call: Auditing EPC Exposure Across an SME Property Holding

Tightening minimum energy efficiency standards will not arrive as an invoice; they will arrive as a valuation problem, a lending condition or a tenant that cannot be found. This guide sets out a board-level audit of EPC exposure across an SME's premises, from assembling certificate evidence to cost-ranking works and testing the numbers against lease length and break options.
Consent, Contractors and the Paper Trail: Governing a UK SME Fit-Out
Governance & Compliance

Consent, Contractors and the Paper Trail: Governing a UK SME Fit-Out

A fit-out is not simply a facilities task. For an SME occupier, alterations to leased premises create landlord obligations, statutory approvals, insurance exposures and an evidence trail that may matter years later. This guide sets out how to govern the project before work starts and keep a file fit for board review and exit negotiations.
Funding the Inevitable: A Board-Ready Sinking Fund for Owner-Occupied Premises
Property & Leases

Funding the Inevitable: A Board-Ready Sinking Fund for Owner-Occupied Premises

Owner-occupier SMEs often treat major building repairs as a future problem, then fund them from working capital at the worst possible moment. This guide sets out a practical reserve policy: a proportionate condition review, a repair schedule with expected lives, an annual provision, and a board approval route with named owners and trigger points.
The Building on the Board Agenda: A Quarterly Premises Walk-Through for UK SMEs
Property & Leases

The Building on the Board Agenda: A Quarterly Premises Walk-Through for UK SMEs

A quarterly premises inspection need not be a technical survey. For owner-managed companies, a structured walk-through gives the board direct evidence on property condition, compliance and lease risk. This guide sets out a ten-point routine and a simple evidence log for the minutes.
Before the Loss Adjuster Calls: A Pre-Agreed Protocol for the First 48 Hours of a Property Incident
Governance & Compliance

Before the Loss Adjuster Calls: A Pre-Agreed Protocol for the First 48 Hours of a Property Incident

A burst pipe, a forced entry or a failed electrical supply tests a business far more sharply than any board paper. This guide sets out how SME occupiers can pre-agree decision rights, spending limits and evidence capture so the first two days of an incident are handled cleanly — and do not turn into an insurance dispute or a compliance failure.
Custody of Keys: Governing Building Access When People Leave
Governance & Compliance

Custody of Keys: Governing Building Access When People Leave

A departing employee can leave with more than a laptop bag. Fobs, keys and alarm codes are access assets that need a controlled return process. This guide sets out a practical register, revocation checklist and landlord coordination routine for UK SMEs.
The Lease Behind the Term Sheet: A Vendor’s Property Review Before an SME Sale
Property & Leases

The Lease Behind the Term Sheet: A Vendor’s Property Review Before an SME Sale

SME owners often prepare for a sale by focusing on accounts, customers and commercial contracts, only to find that the premises lease becomes a late-stage gatekeeper. A structured pre-sale property review helps vendors identify consent requirements, dilapidations exposure, compliance gaps and handover evidence before a buyer’s diligence team does.
Who Decides When Interests Collide? A Conflict Register for the Owner-Managed Board
Governance & Compliance

Who Decides When Interests Collide? A Conflict Register for the Owner-Managed Board

A lightweight conflict-of-interest protocol for small UK boards without a company secretary or separate secretariat. It covers what to record in a register, how to run declarations, related-party decision rules, minute wording and the annual review that keeps the record credible.
Desks, Rooms and Reality: Measuring How Your Office Is Really Used
Property & Leases

Desks, Rooms and Reality: Measuring How Your Office Is Really Used

A practical four-week method for measuring desk, meeting-room and storage use, then converting the findings into a board decision on renegotiating, downsizing, subletting or reshaping the workplace. It sets out a simple audit template and the lease, service charge, business rates and dilapidations tests to run before acting.
The Portfolio Evidence File: Turning Scattered Property Compliance into a Board-Level Register
Property & Leases

The Portfolio Evidence File: Turning Scattered Property Compliance into a Board-Level Register

Insurers, landlords and lenders rarely ask only whether a property risk assessment exists. They ask where the evidence sits, who owns it and when it was last reviewed. This guide shows how a small UK occupier can consolidate statutory property compliance into a single board-level register.
Decision Rights Without the Bottleneck: A One-Page Authority Matrix for a Small UK Board
Governance & Compliance

Decision Rights Without the Bottleneck: A One-Page Authority Matrix for a Small UK Board

When the founder is away, small decisions can stall and large ones can be made by default. A delegated authority matrix sets out who can approve spend, sign contracts, authorise payments and instruct advisers, giving a ten-person SME speed without losing control.
From Filing Cabinet to Board Pack: Why Your SOPs Are Governance Evidence
Governance & Compliance

From Filing Cabinet to Board Pack: Why Your SOPs Are Governance Evidence

Standard operating procedures are often treated as training material. They are better understood as evidence of the board's internal control system. This article argues for named owners, controlled versions, risk-register links and a board-level index.
Before the Notice Lands: A Five-Year Dilapidations Strategy for SME Tenants
Property & Leases

Before the Notice Lands: A Five-Year Dilapidations Strategy for SME Tenants

For many SME occupiers, dilapidations arrive as a single unwelcome invoice at the end of a lease. This guide sets out a preventative five-year plan: survey the condition, agree the record, fund the liability and negotiate from evidence rather than panic.
When Deliveries Stop: A Supplier Failure Playbook for SMEs Without a Procurement Team
Governance & Compliance

When Deliveries Stop: A Supplier Failure Playbook for SMEs Without a Procurement Team

Most SMEs have no procurement function, no supply chain analyst and no contract register — yet they still need a rehearsed response when a critical vendor enters insolvency. This ten-step framework sets out who decides, what to secure first and how to record the event, so the reaction is agreed in advance rather than improvised on the morning the deliveries stop.
Interrogating the Landlord's Numbers: A Tenant's Guide to Commercial Service Charge Audits
Property & Leases

Interrogating the Landlord's Numbers: A Tenant's Guide to Commercial Service Charge Audits

Service charge disputes rarely turn on the size of the demand. They turn on evidence, deadlines and the quality of the paper trail. A governance-led approach to auditing and challenging commercial service charges — who owns the decision, what to request, and the point at which escalation becomes worthwhile.
After the 2026 Bill: A Business Rates Audit for SME Occupiers
Property & Leases

After the 2026 Bill: A Business Rates Audit for SME Occupiers

The 2026 revaluation bills are now with occupiers, and the first instalments have been collected. This practical audit helps owner-managers verify the property facts behind the rateable value, check reliefs and transition, and assemble evidence before deciding whether a challenge is warranted.
Four Pages, One Hour: Monthly Board Governance for Owner-Managed Companies
Governance & Compliance

Four Pages, One Hour: Monthly Board Governance for Owner-Managed Companies

Owner-managed companies often rely on ad hoc management meetings that leave decisions poorly recorded and lenders without a clear narrative. A four-page monthly board pack can impose useful discipline without importing corporate bureaucracy.
Break Clause or Blind Renewal? A Decision Framework for UK SME Leases
Property & Leases

Break Clause or Blind Renewal? A Decision Framework for UK SME Leases

A decision framework for UK SMEs approaching a lease break or renewal in 2026. It compares rent, service charges, dilapidations, EPC upgrade costs and disruption through a scored model and an adviser timetable.

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