It was an interesting week facilitating various activities for a client who was closing a significant property deal which involved multiple properties before 1530 of the 29th; the deal was constructed in a way that all properties involved needed to be included in one overall package, or the deal would not be possible.
Three properties were in London, with another two in Scotland – associated activity at the London was reasonably straightforward, and we had already tied up the requirements in Scotland earlier in the week, or so the client believed. As of Thursday afternoon, all looked rosy for the deal to get across the line on Friday. However, Thursday evening arrives, a problem materialises, and there is a requirement for an important document to be signed, picked up (by hand) and delivered to the Solicitors office in London by 1530. OK, “no problem,” we arranged for a driver to be on standby, ready to go. However, it turns out to not be that simple as we are informed the document is linked to one of the properties in Scotland, ‘Aberdeen’. So, a slightly different problem to solve now, along with dealing with an increasingly angry client. First on the list is discussing possible options with the client, this is quickly followed by investigating flights, and luckily, there’s availability on the first flight out of Heathrow and on the returning flight at 1150. A vehicle is arranged, the Solicitor in Aberdeen teed up, and a motorcycle pick-up at T5 is also arranged.
Like many others, this matter has a large slice of ‘managing the client’s expectations.’ Ultimately, the task was possible but involved numerous moving parts, several of which are clearly out of our control and could easily impact the deadline. It would only take an airline delay or a traffic issue, and we would quickly run out of time – a point made clear to the client. Well, this time, ‘lady luck’ was on our side; all the elements fell into place, and the final piece of the jigsaw (signed document) arrived by hand at its destination in London at 1530 – deal done!
A slightly amusing part of the situation was due to other team members being committed on other tasks; Dave had to make the trek to Aberdeen; well, he was always banging the drum that we needed to ‘keep our hand in’ and ‘be ready for short notice taskings’.
Have a great weekend!
