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A new development made up of some of Birmingham’s most expensive apartments is to be managed by Principle Estate Management. The Turner Consultancy has appointed Principle to look after 14 luxury units at Bristol Court, 248-250 Bristol Road in Edgbaston, which are each priced from £450,000 to £495,000. The two and three bedroomed apartments have been built to extremely high specifications on the site of a former Victorian hotel, ranging in size from 1,200 sq ft to 2,400 sq ft. Asad Adras, project manager

Seven of the UK’s leading property guardian firms have come together to form the sector’s first trade association to lead on safety and standards, to represent and promote the industry, and to foster best practice. The Property Guardian Providers Association (PGPA) has been warmly welcomed by all parties in a debate on property guardians in the House of Lords on Monday, and government Minister Lord Bourne announced the government would be seeking to meet the association soon. The PGPA, which is founded jo

In the first in a series on diversity and inclusion within the property management sector, Neil Jinks gives an insight into how employing a diverse workforce can benefit your business. The research makes a compelling case: diversity and inclusion is good for business. Countless studies demonstrate that a diverse approach leads to greater innovation, faster growth and businesses that outperform the competition. So why doesn’t everyone have a diverse workforce? From my experience, even when the will exists,

A Suffolk-based property management company is the subject of a filmed business case study by mobile phone giant Vodafone. The Sudbury headquarters of Block Management UK Ltd were host to a professional film crew who spent two days there and on the road with one of our experienced property managers. The film features an interview with Managing Director David Collinson as well as a site visit to a Cambridgeshire estate with experienced property manager Josh Edgar. The case study came about when Vodafone id

Principle Estate Management has won a contract to manage a block of apartments near to the University of Birmingham. The company has been appointed to look after Chapter Court on Heeley Road in Selly Oak, Birmingham on behalf of Chapter Court Management Co Ltd. The modern, 12-flat block was built in around 2006 and is 75% rented by individual owners – many of those students and professionals at the university. Principle handles all property management issues and ongoing administrative duties for the manag

The chairman of property management and surveying group Scanlans is celebrating a 40-year career milestone.   Ian Stanistreet considered becoming a journalist or lawyer after leaving high school in 1978 but got a job as a trainee surveyor with Manchester city centre practice Frank Westbrook on £25 a week.    At the time, the practice was owned by Frank’s son Neil, a former Lord Mayor of Manchester who was later knighted.   Ian, 58, qualified in 1987 and shortly afterwards acquired the firm when Neil retir

2018 marks Merco's 10th Birthday!  This time 10 years ago, award-winning founding director, Simon Dresdner, launched Merco from his own garden shed. A frustrated ex-property manager, inspired by his own negative experiences, he decided to give Greater Manchester what it was sorely lacking; a skilled and reliable cleaning company. After starting out with himself as the sole employee, he went on to build our fantastic company, which now employs over 100 staff. This 10-year milestone marks a decade of rap

Pennycuick Collins has marked the retirement of Peter Dening at a celebratory lunch for staff at the firm’s Hagley Road offices. Peter has enjoyed a long and successful career working in Birmingham’s property sector having joined James and Lister Lea as a management surveyor in 1975, with direct control of the management of a residential property portfolio. Peter moved to Pennycuick & Brown, now known as Pennycuick Collins, in 1987, and was promoted to Partner in 1990, with responsibility for the resident

QUESTION I would appreciate some guidance on how to tackle being threatened with legal action by a contractor for non settlement of an invoice when the work was not done correctly. I'm one of four Directors of a MCL for a residential estate consisting of 122 leasehold one bedroom flats and maisonettes who own the freehold. Directors are elected leaseholders who voluntarily manage the non-profit Management Company assisted by a managing agent. In September 2017 we sought quotes to replace an ageing interc

The Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP) hosted its Annual Conference on Tuesday 9 October, with the sell-out event seeing more than 300 professionals gathering for the main event in the leasehold enfranchisement calendar.   This year’s conference addressed the legislation changes the sector will likely undergo in the coming years. Indeed, the opening lecture was delivered by Law Commissioner Professor Nicholas Hopkins who presented an update on the Law Commission’s work on enf

These days, the block management interview process is rarely a stressful affair. Well, it need not be if you prepare properly. By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail – Benjamin Franklin The block management industry has at no time been more demanding yet it is rising to the challenge and showing levels of professionalism never seen before. Thanks to the IRPM in part, property managers’ profiles have been raised. New practitioners have deliberately chosen property management for a career and t

The history of housing in the UK is, in general, a rather dry topic. But in recent times, during what could fairly be described as turmoil in the housing market, the whole debate about tenure has became rather pertinent, writes Richard Berridge In the UK we are used to the debate over ownership v rental, with rental usually coming out as negative and ownership positive. Different generations have different views over many things, and, as generational evolution will have it, what was good for mum and dad,