Defence Estates, the Ministry of Defence’s property arm, will take a more centralised and strategic approach to its property following a government review being conducted by Lord Levene.

Levene was commissioned by the government to carry out a defence reform review, looking at how to make the MoD more efficient.

Speaking at the Public Property Summit this week, Defence Estates interim chief executive David Olney said that the Strategic Defence and Security Review, published two weeks ago, would transform the MoD’s approach to property.

He said Levene’s review would be unveiled around the turn of the year and would see the “bringing together of all the different estate elements, so that’s capital construction, hard facilities management, soft facilities management and utilities”.

He said: “The proposition we’ve put forward is a more centralised approach. The new thing is a more strategic management of the estate.”

Olney also said he was looking forward to setting up a landlord-tenant relationship with Government Property Unit chief John McCready, who is planning to create property vehicles for the government’s office estate in Bristol and London.

He speaks to Public Property UK below:

• Public Property Summit: Defence Estates to become Defence Infrastructure
• Olney named interim head of Defence Estates
• Defence Estates names Andrew Manley acting chief exec
• Defence Estates agrees on new property contracts structure
• Defence review sets out £850m property plan