Featured Articles

Where were you in 1989?  It was the year Deacon started trading.  Fast forward 27 years and it’s amazing to think how the business and the world has changed since then.    The average house price in the UK then was just £61,513.  Today it’s £288,000, an increase of almost 370%.  Mobile phones had only been around for 4 years - digital didn’t arrive until 1992 - and it was only in 1991 that the World Wide Web went live to the whole world.   As for Deacon, from a start-up team of just five the business has

Last year the Department of Business Innovation and Skills pledged to create 3 million apprenticeships by 2020. Many industries and sectors across the economy have seized the opportunity and become “Trailblazer” employers, offering young people an apprenticeship that is practical, relevant and paid. To celebrate the launch of the unique Housing and Property Apprenticeships, key industry figures and the Prime Minister’s Apprentice Advisor, Nadhim Zahawi MP attended an event in Parliament on 23rd February.

Christopher Last has joined the growing Landlord and Tenant team at Dean Wilson LLP, where he will be focussing on leasehold enfran-chisement and lease extensions.  Christopher joins the firm following six years at the Leasehold Advisory Service.  Christopher said, “I am very pleased to be joining Dean Wilson, a firm with such a strong reputation for its work in the leasehold sector for both landlords and tenants”. Ricky Coleman will shortly be qualifying into the same Landlord and Tenant department, wher

Bolton-based ground-rent specialist Landmark Investments Group has appointed David Lathwood as non-executive chairman. He will provide strategic advice and guidance as the company expands its activities, particularly new opportunities in the residential and commercial sectors. Lathwood is currently Lead Director of the North West for international commercial property consultancy JLL, where he is responsible for 175 professionals in the region. He is a member of the JLL UK executive board, which he joined

Deverell Smith has promoted Lucy Hewitt to Principal Property Recruitment Consultant. Hewitt joined Deverell Smith’s academy in 2014 to train in recruitment and property, before specialising in property and asset-management recruitment. Hewitt recruits for all levels from directors to junior/assistant residential property managers. Her new role will also provide leadership and mentoring to new members of Deverell Smith staff, while developing relationships with the team’s existing and new clients. Hewitt

Emma Liddell is taking on a new role as Associate and Senior Property Manager in the Prime Estates department at Savills. Emma has worked in most areas of residential property management over the years, and has recently been responsible for a team of property managers looking after high-end properties in prime central London. “I am excited to be playing a crucial role within the block management team and I look forward with much optimism to growing the team and becoming a figurehead for some of Savills’

Property consultancy CPBigwood has been acquired by Shepherd Direct, one of the UK’s fastest growing independent property groups. Senior partner Rory Daly will remain with the business as Chief Executive Officer of CPBigwood. “2016 is going to be an exciting year for us,” said Mr Daly. “This marks the next step in the evolution of CPBigwood and will further enhance our position as a major player in the auctions and residential service-charge-management sectors. “Rest assured the day-to-day operations will

The newest Savills office opened its doors on 4 January on Elgin Avenue, near Maida Vale underground station, covering the areas from Brondesbury Park south to Little Venice. Head of Lettings Monika Scott believes the combination of Savills’ extensive global network and their local knowledge will serve the area well, especially with the increasing corporate relocation from Kensington, Chelsea and other areas of prime central London. Originally from Finland, Scott has lived and worked in London since 1995

A £100m plan to regenerate Swiss Cottage town centre has been given the go-ahead by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. Essential Living, a developer and operator of homes for rent, will deliver and manage the mixed-use scheme under a single brand. As well as an array of communal facilities and amenity spaces, the plans will include 54 new affordable homes and purpose-built space for community use. Camden councillors refused the proposals for 184 flats in September 2014, despite a

New features have been added to one of the UK’s leading property management and accounting software packages. Grosvenor Systems is launching the latest version of its Propman property management and accounting software, Propman X4, 25 years after its first launch. Key features of Propman X4 include templates for business-process workflows – allowing individual tasks to be allocated to a specified user and setting deadlines. Business-process events can be created automatically on a regular basis, or create

Next time you are tempted to offer professional expertise as a favour for a friend, you might want to think twice. An architect who managed a Grand Designs-style garden revamp for wealthy friends ended up being sued when the project went badly wrong. Basia Lejonvarn was engaged by recruitment tycoon Peter Burgess and his wife Lynn to supervise a redesign of their back garden after Mrs Lejonvarn told them a £150,000 quote was excessive. She agreed to supervise the work for her friends and former neighbours

The number of UK properties worth at least £1 million is expected to more than triple between now and 2030, according to a new report from Santander Mortgages. Today, less than half a million homes in the UK are valued at £1 million or more, but this is set to rise to over 1.6 million in the next 15 years.  While 7% of homes in the South East are expected to fetch £1 million+ by 2030, less than 1% in the North East, Yorkshire and Humber, North West, Scotland and the East Midlands are expected to do the sa