Press Releases

Sleeping giant wakes up with a healthy appetite

Date: 15-July-2005

UNTIL four years ago, Charles White, the oldest property management and letting
company in Edinburgh, could be described as something of a sleeping giant.

Then, in 2001, managing director Edwin Backler got his hands on the firm with a
view to dragging it into the 21st century.

During the intervening period, the local businessman has expanded the group by
setting up an office in Glasgow to service the west coast as well as acquiring
Edinburgh-based Safe Hands Property Management in late 2003 - a business which
has now been successfully integrated.

"We took the company by the scruff of the neck and increased the number of staff
as well as putting in new systems to run the services we offer," says Mr Backler, reflecting on the past few years' achievements.

"The acquisition of Safe Hands provided a good base for the company and allowed us to build up relationships."

This year, the company has amalgamated its two Edinburgh offices to set up a new headquarters in Morningside.

As a result of these changes, Mr Backler has seen the company's fee income increase fourfold from an uninspiring GBP 400,000 to an estimated GBP 1.5 million for the current year. It now has 900 individual flats in its residential letting arm, up from 350, and 12,000 units under its development management wing, an increase from the 2500 Mr Backler inherited.

But Charles White's MD says the company has no intention of resting on its laurels. The plan is to continue to build, not only in Scotland, but also further afield.

"The main plan is to continue to make inroads into Glasgow," reveals Mr Backler.
"In other areas, we are talking to developers further south, such as Liverpool and Manchester. However, it is hard work going into areas where the company is not known."

Despite the slowdown in the housing market, Mr Backler is confident that there will be no major impact on either the management or letting services arms. "Some contracts that are waiting in the wings need people in them," he says. "But where we are currently managing sites, we need to do something stupid to lose clients."

Mr Backler adds that the lettings market is settling down, now that the buy-to-let craze appears to have run its course.

Charles White was established in 1840 and now provides property development management and property letting services throughout the residential market, working with a wide range of landlords and builders, including big names such as Cala, Elphinstone Homes, Gregorshore, Burrell and Wimpey.

The group's team of 30 property professionals, currently split between Edinburgh and Glasgow, provides services to its customers in these cities as well as other areas such as Aberdeen, Fife, Falkirk, Perth and Dundee. Throughout Scotland, the company has management contracts for more than 300 individual developments and around 900 rented properties resulting in a total client base of about 30,000 customers. The firm also provides an advisory service for house-builders and landlords to make sure effective management is built in at all stages.

The aim of Charles White is to serve the property needs of all clients by "inspiring confidence, earning trust and so sustaining loyalty".

"We want to be proactive to make sure clients stay with us," Mr Backler elaborates. "We have to earn their trust and we need to demonstrate that we can do what we say we can."

The company is split into two parts - property letting services and development management.

Property letting is seen as the core of the company's business, with the aim of helping landlords achieve the best possible returns on their investment. "Each of our clients is different and so we offer a range of services to suit their individual needs," notes Mr Backler.

The services provided to landlords by this particular division include property inspection and letting advice, the preparation of the inventory and lease, regular property inspections and maintenance supervision, rental income collection and remittance to the landlord, a comprehensive check-out procedure and a pro-active role in sourcing new tenants.

FROM a landlord's point of view, maintenance can be a logistical nightmare, particularly if they do not live within easy reach of the property.

Charles White offers help whether it is a minor repair or a full-scale emergency. There is a team of contractors from all trades who carry out "high quality, cost effective" work.

There are potential regulatory problems that need to be overcome when providing a letting service for property owners.

First there is a question of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs). This is where a property is the only residence for three or more unconnected people, such as a group of students. In this instance, the owner needs to be licensed, and it is up to the property managers to make sure their clients have the necessary licence.

This week, the Scottish Executive issued a consultation paper putting forward proposals to protect private sector tenants and to tackle antisocial behaviour by registering Scotland's landlords.

Deputy Communities Minister Johann Lamont said that anyone who owns a house or flat which is rented out will have to register with their local authority and that it will become an offence to rent out property without being registered.

When it comes to managing developments, the company puts itself forward as a manager with responsibilities for the elements under common ownership in a residential development. These can include organising the maintenance, repairs and cleaning of common areas within a development, making regular detailed inspections of developments, administering and collecting charges associated with communal repairs and maintenance and responding to inquiries from the clients or residents' associations.

"We ensure the day-to-day running of properties is as smooth as possible and that maintenance and repairs are carried out quickly and to a high standard," says Mr Backler.

In the past, Mr Backler says, it was a last-minute attempt to get the management company in to run the completed development. Now, it is more of a service that is in at the ground floor, so to speak.

"We have to make sure we are in at the design stage. We have to be viewed as a professional adviser at the outset and have to be proactive in what the developments need. The clients have to see the benefits we can provide."

The firm is constantly looking for new contracts to run alongside its existing ones. Two of the latest arrangements it has negotiated in Edinburgh include the Gregorshore project Platinum Point at Newhaven and the joint venture between Burrell and Places for People at Granton - Upper Strand Developments.

Further west, the company has an agreement to run the FM Developments project, River Heights, overlooking the Clyde and Glasgow skyline.

Mr Backler has high hopes for the company he claims to have dragged up by its bootstraps. "We are determined to position ourselves as the leading property management company in Scotland."