Principle to manage 250-plus units across UK for national property operator

Following its success with these properties, Simarc has now instructed Principle to start managing another portfolio by the end of this year.

The new properties total 256 units at 12 blocks across the country in Colchester, Essex; Cleveland; Ealing, London; Hove, East Sussex; Kings Lynn, Norfolk; Llanelli, South Wales; Oxted, Surrey; and Shrewsbury; Shropshire. These include:

• 98 units in Chatsworth Court, Hove, just a ten-minute walk from the seafront.
• 44 units at The Anchorage, Shrewsbury, next door to Benbow Quay which is already managed by Principle.
• 35 units in five smaller blocks all in Ealing, London.
• 33 units at Lys Newydd, Llanelli, which involves Principle having to issue additional statutory notices in Welsh which it is set up to do, as the company already manages other properties in South Wales.

Brett Williams, managing director of Principle, explained that the contract for the Ealing sites starts in October, while the other properties will come under its management from December.

He said: “We won these new contracts as a result of Simarc’s consolidation review exercise to refine its panel of agents.

“It’s super that Simarc continues to instruct us on properties, and the breadth of these latest locations shows how Principle really is seen as a national operator by freeholder clients.

“Our continued expansion means that whenever we are asked by a client if we cover a specific area, we almost always have properties nearby, which helps.”

Natalie Chambers, director at Simarc, said: “It’s essential for us to have a reliable agent who operates nationally.

“We’ve awarded a series of different portfolios to Principle and continue to be impressed with their client-centric care and attention, which meant we had no hesitation to use them again.

“We are long term custodians of the buildings we own, and we take that extremely seriously as we feel we have a responsibility to the leaseholders and residents.

“The fact that Principle shares that view in relation to their role is important to us, and we hope to continue using them to provide outstanding service to our customers in the future.”

Principle Estate Management was launched in 2018 by Mr Williams, the former head of residential property management at CPBigwood in Birmingham, and a past-chairman of ARMA.

Now in its third year, Principle has tripled in size in the last 12 months, with the number of units it manages rising from just under 2,000 to more than 6,000 across all nine English regions including London, plus more in Wales.

The company is based at Newhall Street in Birmingham and offers a national property management service.