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The UK Residential Property Industry recognised the best in Enfranchisement and Right to Manage at a special black-tie awards dinner held at Lord's Cricket Ground in London on 12th May 2010.  The awards were organised by News on the Block, the leading publication in this sector, and hosted by celebrity Dominic Holland. The Awards were judged by an independent panel comprising Georgiana Hibberd of RICS Professional Group, Bob Smytherman of the Federation of Private Residents' Associations and Pe

Specialist block manager, Encore Estate Management, part of the Chard Robinson Group, will be expanding into London following its recent acquisition of JP Management.  JP Management was founded and owned by the former Chairman of the Federation of Private Residents' Associations, John Peartree, who is retiring following the sale.  The JP Management Portfolio includes leasehold apartment blocks of various size and age in the City (close to Liverpool Street Station), as well as Pimlico, Bayswater and Wimble

Stonedale, the specialist property management company which operates at the heart of the London property market, has done its own property deal and opened a new office in Central London. The company manages 4000 properties in 55 exclusive London developments from the City boundary through Wapping, Limehouse and Docklands in the north and from Southwark to Greenwich in the south. The official opening, which took place on Thursday 6th May 2010, saw the Stonedale team and guests celebrate in their new

The Finalists for the annual Enfranchisement and Right to Manage Awards 2010 have been announced. A competitive selection of entries was whittled down by the esteemed panel of judges that included Georgiana Hibberd, Associate Director of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Professional Group, Bob Smytherman, Chairman of the Federation of Private Residents' Associations and Peter Rodd, Chairman of The Law Society Property Section. The Finalists are:London Solicitor of the Year: Colman Coyle, Pembe

Melissa Briggs has been unsuccessful in winning a Parliamentary seat in the General Election.  Nick Gibb from the Conservative party won the popular vote.  Briggs was standing as an Independent candidate for the CLIP party (Carlex Leasehold Independence Party) in the Bognor and Littlehampton constituency.  Commenting on the result of her election campaign, Briggs said: "candidates from the main parties have approached with a view to talking to us further...so the next phase begins with plans to eng

Bournemouth-based blocks of flats specialist Deacon was the top performer in the property and commercial division of Barbon Insurance Group, writing over £1m in commission and fees in 2009. Overall broking business income at Barbon was up by 2% to £42.7m, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increasing to £13.5m, a rise of 20% from the previously recorded £11.2m. Martin Oliver, Chief Executive Officer at Barbon Insurance Group commented: "Further building on this su

Almost forty per cent of house hunters believe the property market will improve if the Conservatives win the General Election, a survey of 14, 800 FindaProperty.com users has revealed. Nigel Lewis, property expert at FindaProperty. com, says: “It seems the majority of house hunters believe the best thing for the property market would be a Conservative victory. Their policies on the deregulation of the market and ensuring only millionaires pay inheritance tax have really struck a chord with the voting publ

Changes to the way in which managing agents of residential blocks of flats account for service charge monies that were promised to be implemented in line with the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 have not been enacted due to a lack of Parliamentary time prior to the General Election. Indications are that the changes can be expected during the next Parliament.

Melissa Briggs, an Arun District Councillor and one of the co-founders of Carlex, the Campaign against Retirement Leasehold Exploitation, is now standing as an independent candidate in the Bognor Regis & Littlehampton constituency at the General Election, on a platform of Leasehold Reform, under the banner of CLIP – Carlex Leasehold Independence Party, (www.clip.uk.net). Commenting in this issue of News on the Block, Briggs says: “I am standing … at a time when policies, manifestos and plans for the futur

A working party set up by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has called for the property management industry to be formally regulated. This was the centrepiece of a range of measures encouraging greater transparency in the sector and raising industry standards. The recommendation came as a result of a thorough investigation by RICS into the operating practices of the residential property management industry, particularly with regard to service charges and insurance commissions. Commenting

Melissa Briggs, Co-Founder of Carlex is now standing as an independent candidate in the Bognor Regis & Littlehampton constituency at the General Election under the banner of CLIP - Carlex Leasehold Independence Party I am standing in the General Election on a platform of Leasehold Reform, to publicise this issue to a much wider audience at a time when policies, manifestos and plans for the future are being supplied by all the main parties, but none of them seem to have much in the way of real ideas as to

THE ENFRANCHISEMENT FORUM: Increasing the value of your flat in an uncertain market Colman Coyle LLP with News on the Block would like to invite you to the first in a series from The Enfranchisement Forum, 6:00pm, 25th May 2010 Are you a tenant looking to enforce your collective rights to buy the freehold of a property or extend the term of your leases? Or are you a landlord who wants advice on your options to sell or ensure you receive the best possible price for the freehold? Come and have all your enfr