White Paper: From Brown Discounts to Digital Premiums

How resilient connectivity can help protect income, reduce voids, and support stronger rents in UK commercial property.

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When digital basics fail, deals slow down, and “brown discounts” appear. Tenants lose confidence, and issues arise during viewings, move-ins, and renewals.

This white paper explains what “good” connectivity and digital infrastructure looks like, why it now affects commercial outcomes, and how to take a simple, repeatable approach across a portfolio.

Download the white paper now
The front cover of a white paper, titled From Brown Discounts to Digital Premiums

What you will get from this white paper

A clear, practical guide to improving digital readiness in commercial buildings, written for senior property leaders and investors.

Why it matters

Buildings with recognised digital certification have been linked with:

  • Premium rents: Cushman & Wakefield found an average 4.1% rental premium for WiredScore-certified London offices, with uplifts up to 5.1% for the highest levels of digital capability.
  • Lower vacancy: A Moody’s Analytics CRE study, summarised by WiredScore, found vacancy is 3.8% lower on average for WiredScore-certified office buildings compared with similar non-certified buildings.

These are not “nice to have” features. They help remove doubt during leasing and reduce the risk of disruption after move-in.

What you will learn

  • What tenants, agents, valuers, investors and operators look for when judging a building’s digital capability.
  • What resilient connectivity looks like in practice (the basics that prevent a single fault from taking everyone offline).
  • How to make digital performance easier to prove, using clear documentation and independent validation such as WiredScore and SmartScore.
  • A simple checklist you can apply across a portfolio to prioritise improvements and support due diligence.

Who is this paper for?

Senior leaders and UK commercial property professionals, including investors, asset managers, developers, landlords and managing agents.

About Modern Networks

Modern Networks provides connectivity, secure networks, telephony and responsive support for the UK commercial property sector. Founded in 1999, we support over 2,000 UK properties across retail, office and 600+ tenant organisations across 46 science and innovation parks.

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