Attorney Michael de Broglio on: South Africa, Law, Politics, Attorneys, Sport, Photography, Technology, Gadgets, Media, Crime, Road Accidents Fund,
Divorce, Maintenance, Personal Injury, Medical Negligence
I must say I had some interest on the blog article that I wrote about Webber Wentzel’s offices. I spoke to somebody involved in construction and he was asking me what I thought those offices would cost. I told him R80 million and he almost fell over. My guess was based on the fact that I imagine that offices are cheaper to build than residential houses, and the finishes are not as fancy inside as an upmarket house. I was told in no uncertain terms that I was wrong and that the Webber Wentzel offices, for example, would cost much closer in the region of R500 million. He promised to research it for me and sent me a link to where the tender was awarded for R895 million saying the building would be worth R1,1 billion! I must say figures like that boggle my mind. I struggle to imagine how commercial buildings can cost R30 000 a square metre. I cannot even begin to think where, after paying for the building, there is money left to pay salaries and it just shows you the extraordinary divide between the fees that are considered normal and actually subject to attack all the time for personal injury attorneys and the fees charged by corporate attorneys. As I have mentioned before, in my experience in litigation in a golf estate in Johannesburg, where the attorneys charged R12 million, I have long realised that the fees charged by corporate attorneys are simply on another planet to the rest of us. One can only imagine what the cost of the Norton Rose Fullbright building is or that of the new Werksman’s building.
Posted by Michael de Broglio on Monday 19-Sep-16
Post a Comment
Comments
Nicolle said:
on Monday 10-Oct-16 04:52 PM
This reminded me of the story of the Three Little Pigs. Morals of the story included that hard work and perseverance pays off at the end. The first two piggies were lazy and did not want to work, so they built their houses very easily and spent their time playing around. However the third piggy was far-sighted and took time and effort to build his house. When the big bad wolf showed up, the only saving grace was the third piggys solid home.
This story also tells us that we should learn to choose our priorities. The first two piggies found playing and dancing around important, whereas piggy number three realised the importance of his house.
This being said, Firms like Webber Wentzel and the big 5 have had YEARS to build their houses. The lesson we may learn at our small, boutique or medium firms, is to never lose sight of the end game, turning that big 5 into a big 6
Tersia said:
on Tuesday 04-Oct-16 05:31 PM
It's definitely a stunning building, for all that we know it's one of those - looks great on the outside but not so great on the inside. We will never really know... That's a crazy amount of money, atleast they spent it on improving the building as to buying useless material things for themselves!
Henrietta said:
on Tuesday 04-Oct-16 05:14 PM
I can just imagine what the maintenance bill per month will be on a building like that.
Sally said:
on Monday 03-Oct-16 08:35 AM
It is a spectacular building but I also think that the bill per month to maintain same is extremely high.
Thabitha said:
on Wednesday 28-Sep-16 10:09 AM
Building is beautiful really I am not surprised, you can just imagine how much are they going to spend to maintain the building, garden and other things.
Cornelie said:
on Wednesday 28-Sep-16 09:52 AM
Just imagane the maintance on that building. Where does all the money come from.
Brenda van den Bergh said:
on Wednesday 28-Sep-16 09:17 AM
Those figures are absolutely astounding, and when one thinks of such a high amount of money paid just for a building it makes you wonder why a firm has to go to such extravagant extremes just for an office that will deteriorate over time. Although property is a huge investment, it still costs a lot of money to maintain it. Whilst I do understand that the "image" of a firm is crucial, but one can have a stunning building without having to take out that amount of money. At the end of the day, the service delivery is way more important and if your service is not great, the building you are operating from surely wont make a difference, and likewise if your service is fantastic, the building wont matter either. There are just so many better things to invest your money in.
But no doubt, it is an absolutely beautiful building.
brumilde said:
on Wednesday 28-Sep-16 08:53 AM
i still think its a beuatifull office, alas i cannot even begin to estimate on building costs for commercial buildings, but wow and i wonder of those costs include furniture, equiptment, decor.
Alexis said:
on Friday 23-Sep-16 08:59 AM
It just shows the growth and how well they are doing. I can imagine that they work long hours and deal with a lot - it is good to make sure that your staff are comfortable and feel driven to work as hard as they do.
tamzyn said:
on Wednesday 21-Sep-16 02:39 PM
It looks lovely, I would love to have a peek inside.
Natasha said:
on Wednesday 21-Sep-16 08:35 AM
Wow that building looks amazing can just think how nice it is in the inside
Latoya said:
on Tuesday 20-Sep-16 04:51 PM
Stunning building indeed, Cost a lot of money hey:)I agree with Zindy what we could do with a million, wow amazing:)Well I guess hard work pays off a lot
Liesl said:
on Tuesday 20-Sep-16 09:54 AM
The building certainly is spectacular. I have heard talk of some of the features and luxuries the offices have and it sounds amazing. Managing that kind of money must come with huge responsibility and wisdom.
Zindy said:
on Tuesday 20-Sep-16 08:55 AM
Wow, Speechless! The Building does sound amazing! To Think what I could do with just one million :-D
Ashleigh said:
on Tuesday 20-Sep-16 08:54 AM
That is crazy money. I wonder if the window frames are gold plated. lol Its a beautiful building and anyone who walks through that door should feel like a million bucks.
Jessica M said:
on Tuesday 20-Sep-16 08:53 AM
Omw I need some of that money to help me out. I would however love to see inside that building. Must be amazing.
Brenda Du Toit said:
on Tuesday 20-Sep-16 08:51 AM
This building is amazing it looks very nice I would like to go in there one day and see how it looks inside I can just imagine all the money that they had to invest in this building.
Prishani said:
on Monday 19-Sep-16 04:23 PM
That is a lot of money and I have no doubt that there is extra pressure on the firm itself to ensure they make sufficient profit just to cover the cost of such an extravagant building!
daria said:
on Monday 19-Sep-16 04:03 PM
It must look amazing inside. I am sure they can cover the costs of the building as I am sure they thought of that before spending that amount of money.
Joyce said:
on Monday 19-Sep-16 03:36 PM
it sounds like they are billionaires.
Angelique P said:
on Monday 19-Sep-16 01:50 PM
That's a big amount to spend on a building but I am sure they can afford it.
I can just imagine how the inside looks like.
It must be amazing to see.
Angelique Jurgens said:
on Monday 19-Sep-16 12:38 PM
They aren't called the "Big 5" for nothing. That's where the serious money is made! No wonder they have sleeping pods... Bill every waking hour - you frowned upon if you don't work a million more hours than what one may consider a normal 9-5 job.
Helen said:
on Monday 19-Sep-16 11:54 AM
It is insane, to pay so much money for the office space. Would be interesting to know the turnover of this company and how busy they are during financial year? I would imagine very busy.....
Mathilda said:
on Monday 19-Sep-16 11:49 AM
Wow that is crazy I did not even begin to think it will be more than R50 million and now that you mention R500 million Im actually shocked, I knew it would be expensive but not that expensive.
But ill love to see how it looks inside
Sinead said:
on Monday 19-Sep-16 11:25 AM
WOOOOOOOOW!!!!!! That is insane! Where does all that money come from?
I too wonder what the cost of Norton Rose Fulbright building is. It's one building I always look at when I'm in the area. It is just pure art! I would love to see the insides of Norton Rose and Webber Wentzel's bulidings...
Daniella said:
on Monday 19-Sep-16 11:11 AM
that is crazy amounts of money! I would love to see how their offices look inside, should be amazing!
Bianca said:
on Monday 19-Sep-16 09:45 AM
I am sure they must be making money back in the fees that they charge unless they really have been investing towards building their dream office and much of the money was savings. I think the value is crazy and the charge of the land even more so.
Zanell said:
on Monday 19-Sep-16 09:42 AM
That is insane, I definitely have to have a peep inside one day. Wonder what the their bond payments are every month.
Suzanne said:
on Monday 19-Sep-16 09:15 AM
That is a lot of money, but if you generate enough income to support such an amazing building, why not.
Kaylee said:
on Monday 19-Sep-16 08:33 AM
Well we definitely know where the big bucks are, definitely not in personal injury! I would love to go and see this building sometime
Jessica Apfel said:
on Monday 19-Sep-16 08:25 AM
The clientele of these sort firms are certainly not the ordinary man on the street. That being said, R 30 000 a square meter seems a little obscene! These sort buildings house hundreds of staff members and each are billing per hour so I can see how such a firm generates so much revenue.
david said:
on Monday 19-Sep-16 07:46 AM
wonder what they bill per hour?
someone has to pay for the building...
Johannesburg based attorney specializing in personal injury matters including Road Accident Fund claims and medical negligence matters. My interests include golf, reading and the internet and the way it is constantly developing. I have a passion for life and a desire for less stress!
