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FirstPort has renewed its commitment to improving and strengthening its environmental performance and process systems’ management, being awarded ISO 14001 and 9001 certifications for the second consecutive year. In 2021, FirstPort became the first organisation in the industry to receive the internationally-recognised certifications, which have now been successfully renewed, following an extensive auditing process. The IS0 14001 certification looks at how an organisation’s activities affect the environment

A modern block of fully let apartments in the Black Country has been sold for £1.15 million in a deal sealed by property experts Bond Wolfe. The property at 27 Sutton Road in Walsall contains nine two-bedroomed apartments spread across three floors and producing a total of £70,200 in rent per annum. The apartments in the freehold property all have high specification finishes, including ensuite bathrooms and allocated car parking spaces to the rear. Bond Wolfe handled the sale on behalf of Dinamead Ltd, a

Not-for-profit company Capital Letters has made a major move in its work to tackle the homelessness crisis by partnering with unique property maintenance company EVO Digital Technologies (EVO) to digitalise its repairs, maintenance and compliance services through a unique tenant-driven platform. By automating a large part of the administration process related to the management of the repairs service through EVO, tenants will benefit from an excellent and responsive service and Capital Letters can reinvest

I wrote a few weeks ago about the £1.4bn windfall coming the way of fat cat broadband providers happy to hit their customers with above-inflation contract price increases of 20% or more. Is this linked to the provision of faster broadband speeds? Well, no. Customers will carry on receiving the same service at a higher cost, including those who currently get nothing close to the hyperfast speeds offered by gigabit-capable broadband. Worse still, customers wishing to cancel these contracts and switch elsewh

You may think that flooding only affects those in low-lying or coastal areas, but the reality is that it’s also common in a lot of built up areas too. As well as natural water sources like lakes and rivers overflowing, blocked street drains and extreme rain can also cause flooding, which affects those living in cities and towns.  When apartment buildings experience flooding, the results can be disastrous for both residents and property owners. Luckily, there are several things that you can do to both redu

We are proud to announce The Hill Group has been awarded Gold accredited membership, for the second consecutive year, via The 5% Club’s 2022-23 Employer Audit Scheme. The 5% Club is a dynamic movement of employers, all of whom are inspired to take positive action for increased, inclusive, and accessible workplace training for all. With a membership which now exceeds 750 companies, The 5% Club represents over 1.6 million employees, 93,500 of whom are in “earn and learn” schemes. The Employer Audit is a uni

Nirvana Group Holdings (NGH) has acquired Nirvana Maintenance and Urban Maintenance Group, to continue its expansion into the North West. Nirvana Maintenance provides a full suite of services for residential property managers, including fire safety, M&E, general maintenance/multi-skilled, grounds maintenance and cleaning services. To date, Nirvana Maintenance has maintained 80+ client portfolios across London and the South. By acquiring Manchester-based Urban Maintenance Group, NGH now intends to deliver

The Building Safety Act 2022 (“Act”) introduces a raft of new measures aimed at improving the safety of buildings containing flats. We highlight some of the new requirements:  NEW REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO FLAT OWNERS IN HIGHER RISK BUILDINGS The Act includes requirements in relation to the information that must be provided to owners of long leases (flat owners) in higher risk buildings. WHAT IS A HIGHER RISK BUILDING? A higher risk building is one which: Is in England; Is at least 18 metre

Innovative and hi-tech businesses are being urged to seek advice after tax relief for research and development (R&D) was slashed in the Autumn Budget. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced the relief would be cut from 14.5 per cent to 10 per cent from next April and experts at accountants and business advisors Whitley Stimpson say business owners should act quickly to see how they will be affected and assess what can be done to mitigate the impact. Whitley Stimpson Director Jonathan Walton said: “Oxfordshire h

As the cost-of-living crisis bites and house & rent prices soar, many kind-hearted folks came together with the one goal in mind, to support young people and keep them off the streets.  Millennium Point once again played host to the St Basils Homelessness Sleepout where over 400 people from schools, businesses as well as individuals raised much needed funds by sleeping outside in cardboard boxes.  The generous group of fundraises were entertained during the night by The Band of the West Midlands Fire Serv

A chartered building surveyor and engineer with more than 30 years’ experience in external facades and cladding, has written to Housing Secretary Michael Gove to highlight concerns around new regulations such as the Building Safety Act 2022 and the developers’ pledge – Mr Gove’s bid to reset building safety in England. Dorian Lawrence is Managing Director of FRC, which is part of the RSK Group. He is a member of the Property Institute Building Safety Group, along with Mr Gove’s department, the Royal Insti

The Property Management Awards 2022 were held at our glamorous awards ceremony on 24 November 2022 at City Central at the HAC in London.  The awards were hosted by comedian and presenter, Joel Dommett and brought together over 840 people from across the industry, who gathered for the evening to celebrate with their peers and clients.  We would like to extend a huge congratulations to all of our winners and highly commended. Also to everyone who made the shortlist this year. We had a record breaking amount