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Initiative Property Management (IPM), a company overseeing a vast portfolio of 2,000 flats and apartments across the South, including Southampton, has abruptly ceased trading. This startling development comes as Dorset Police launch an investigation into alleged missing funds connected to property management. The IPM office, situated at Branksome Business Park in Poole, now stands locked, with no employees present. Concerns have surged as numerous residents and property owners report having paid substanti

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s scrapping of legal requirements for residential landlords to meet minimum energy efficiency standards has been welcomed by leading Midlands estate agents DM & Co. Homes. Mr Sunak has announced that no legislation will be introduced requiring property owners to make energy efficiency improvements. But he also pledged that extra money would be made available to those who wanted to replace their gas boilers with heat pumps. Gabrielle Argue, head of lettings at DM & Co. Homes, exp

Avoiding and managing resident debt, especially in relation to energy bills, has been high on the agenda of the property sector for some time. And as the cost of living continues to rise, a growing number of residents are experiencing debt for the first time. A report by the ONS (source, 2023) revealed that almost half of adults (49%) who reported that they were behind on their energy bills also reported high levels of anxiety.  On the other hand, for property managers, it’s never been more important to b

The owners of a collection of 39 premium apartments near to Kensington Gardens in central London have praised Principle Estate Management for its high-quality external refurbishment works. Principle’s project focused on timber repairs to rotten windows, redecoration of all windows, doors and railings, along with replacement finishes to balconies across the six-storey Palace Court on Hereford Road and Moscow Road in Bayswater. The property, which ranges from one-bedroomed to three-bedroomed apartments, als

Leading property management company Rendall & Rittner has been appointed to manage The Dower House, a Grade II listed property containing 14 apartments that represents a major historic landmark in Bristol. The Dower House in Stoke Park has a fascinating history, originally built in 1553 by Sir Richard Berkeley and later rebuilt in the 18th century by Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt. The property’s name is taken from its use as a dower house for the dukes of Beaufort at nearby Badminton House. In mo

A manager with Birmingham-based estate management firm MetroPM has been given a seven-month sabbatical to play cricket in Australia. Henry Arnold, a property manager with Metro PM, has played cricket since the age of seven for Harborne Cricket Club, and even played county cricket for Warwickshire as an 11 and 12-year-old. Mr Arnold specialises as a bowler and has now been contracted to play for East Bentleigh Central Cricket Club in Melbourne, Australia, in a season running from this October to April 2024

The tough economic climate has seen the so-called “Bank of Mum and Dad” increase its stake in the UK’s mortgage market to help children onto the property ladder, and parents are now far more likely to take action to protect their capital, writes Charlie Davidson, residential property expert with London law firm Bishop & Sewell LLP.  With the high cost of living continuing to bite, the Bank of Mum and Dad is estimated to provide around £17bn through informal gifts and loans each year* and is involved in

Shockingly, those asked believed that a fire door that was propped open with a wedge or a fire extinguisher was safe, and 15% believed that keeping a fire door closed stops it performing, highlighting a lack of understanding around the role fire doors play in the event of a fire. What’s more, only 19% of those responsible for the specification, installation and maintenance of fire doors inspect their fire doors twice a year, 14% inspect annually, while 3% only inspect their fire doors when an issue has be

Residents’ management companies are being urged to ensure fire risk assessments are carried out at their apartment blocks in a wake-up call as new regulations come into force. An expert at property management firm Scanlans warned the clock is ticking for management companies at buildings which are over 18 metres in height or at least seven floors. A deadline of Saturday, September 30 has been set for them to ensure that up-to-date information about buildings in this category is registered on a new central

Property management companies have the power to assist their clients in preventing the unwelcome discovery of Japanese knotweed on their newly built homes. This is what happens on new build sites:  Japanese knotweed can be found on many construction sites planned for housing development The knotweed rhizomes (roots) can remain viable (but not visible) underground for many years If even a fragment of rhizome is disturbed during construction work it will rapidly spread If ignored the new shoots will ap

Emma McCarthy has been promoted to the position of Managing Director of retirement property management specialist Churchill Estates Management (CEM) from her previous role of Commercial Director. An independent arm of the Churchill Retirement Group, CEM manages over 200 developments across the country, providing management services to over 10,000 retired people daily. As the daughter of Churchill’s Co-Founder Clinton McCarthy, Emma is the third generation of McCarthys to take a senior leadership role in t

Experts at accountants and business advisers Whitley Stimpson are urging businesses to update their payroll systems in a bid to avoid penalty charges from HMRC. Latest figures have revealed that over the last three years HMRC has slapped fines of more than £75m on UK firms who are repeatedly failing to meet their payroll requirements. Many businesses are missing deadlines or making mistakes including misclassifying employees, using the wrong tax code, miscalculating pay, or incorrectly calculating auto-en