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Issue 127 of News on the Block has now been published and is available for subscribers to read online now. This issue includes a special PropTech and Security feature and includes some of the following articles. Firm ceases trading as financial probe begins Members approve merger of two property organisations Do you know risks of asbestos exposure? Don’t get into a knot about invasive plants Continuity and happy homes... What now for responsible persons? Three reasons why business partnerships reall

The site of an old brewery in Bristol that has been transformed into more than 100 new homes, co-working space and retail units is to be looked after by Principle Estate Management. The contract to manage the 107 residential units and 18,000 sq ft of commercial areas at The Old Brewery on North Street, Southville has come from Abri Housing Association, one of the south’s largest housing providers. Joe Jobson, joint managing director of Principle, explained how the development had been created in a joint v

Peabody, Kestrix and United Living Property Services have been awarded £240,000 by Innovate UK, the UK’s Innovation Agency, to develop ‘game changing’ technology that could transform the way the retrofit industry measures the energy efficiency of buildings.   The funding - announced today (Wednesday 4 October) at UK construction week in Birmingham - is intended to address the urgent need for more scalable, accurate and cost-effective surveying and modelling techniques.   The three organisations will work

The latest rankings for the Legal 500 have been released and once again Liverpool’s specialist property law firm JB Leitch hold a high position amongst the region’s leading legal experts.  Acknowledged as the world’s largest independent legal referral guide, the rankings for 2024 are based on a broad series of criteria, including strong technical ability available for the most complex and innovative work, client recommendation and results. JB Leitch has retained Tier 3 ranking in the field of property lit

London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, has revealed that having made as much as £9,000 per property in house price appreciation, the government is now pocketing thousands of pounds more in interest from Help to Buy homeowners who have reached the end of their five year interest free period.  The original Help to Buy scheme ran from 1st April 2013 to 31st May 2021, offering an equity loan of up to 20% on the purchase price of a new-build home of up to £600,000, climbing to a 40% loan for thos

McCarthy Stone, the UK’s leading developer and manager of retirement communities, has appointed Ciaran Aldridge as its new Managing Director for its Northern division. Ciaran joins from Aldi, the supermarket operator, where he was National Property Director since 2016. Ciaran was responsible for coordinating Aldi’s property strategy and for expanding the business, which now has over 1,150 stores throughout the UK and Ireland. He was at Aldi for a total of 16 years. Ciaran joined McCarthy Stone last month

Barking and Dagenham Reside, a housing company wholly owned by Barking and Dagenham Council, has partnered with digital repairs and property management platform EVO to transform its property management and maintenance service.  Reside exists to provide affordable housing, both for rent and for sale, to those who cannot afford to buy or rent on the open market and have limited access to social housing. The partnership will see EVO take responsibility for the management and delivery of repairs, contractors

Landlords feeling gloomy about the new Renters Reform Bill, upcoming energy performance rules and general economic pressures have been offered a free property health check by Principle Estate Management. Lauren O’Brien, head of lettings at Principle, urged landlords to contact her following the recent findings from Goodlord’s annual State of the Lettings Industry report. Goodlord’s poll revealed that nearly 60% of landlords are pessimistic, with 47% of them either trying to offload properties or consideri

Top 25 national law firm Irwin Mitchell is boosting its ESG Practice with the recruitment of Keith Davidson as a new partner in its Planning and Environment Team. Keith is recognised as a leading expert on environmental and sustainability issues. He was a former Environment Commissioner for Greater Manchester and Head of Environment at Mills & Reeve. Keith will transfer his own award-winning environmental practice at ELM Law and team up with Irwin Mitchell’s successful National Head of Planning & Environm

Question I'm a flat owner in London and I've been hearing a lot about commonhold recently but don't really understand exactly what it is. How does it affect me as a flat owner? Answer  Commonhold is a form of freehold ownership which usually works best in blocks of flats, although it can also work for houses on estates. The legal structure of commonhold is different from leasehold. There are no leases for example but instead you have one commonhold community statement which sets out the rules and regulati

The UK PropTech Association (“UKPA”), membership has approved its merger with The British Property Federation (“BPF”), following consultation with its members and the 75% approval threshold being reached. The UKPA which represents all parts of the proptech ecosystem, announced in April this year that it had reached agreement to merge with the BPF, subject to membership ratification. The merger brings together the BPF’s membership of close to 400 property owners, investors, developers and advisors with the

Leading property management company Rendall & Rittner has appointed Lesley McGowan as Head of HR Business Partnering, in which she will lead employee relations and learning and development. As part of the senior leadership team, she will support the HR Director in building and developing people strategies for the business. Lesley joins Rendall & Rittner with over twenty years’ experience in the HR industry, having worked in senior positions across the professional services sector as well as running her ow