Fast-growing property management firm commits future to office-working

A growing residential estate management company has committed its future to office-working after moving to a new boutique space in Birmingham.

Principle Estate Management, which looks after over 6,000 units across 200 developments, has tripled in size over the last 12 months after launching in 2018.

The firm says its staff numbers have risen from seven to 24 in little over a year and its latest move to office space of 2,500 sq ft in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter is the company's third move in just over two years.

"This is a major statement of our faith both in Principle Estate Management and in Birmingham as the city where we want to grow," says Brett Williams, founder of Principle Estate Management.

"We have always been a 100% office based business, with no homeworkers, as one of our principal strengths is the teamwork we all share."

He says that at a time when most businesses are re-evaluating office space requirements, his firm engaged with all staff to discuss how they could best serve their client base over the coming years.

"We recognise there are times when working from home is required, particularly when ‘quiet time’ on a large or difficult project so we have sought to find a balance that everyone agrees can help us drive the business forward in the most efficient way both for staff and our clients," says Williams.

He says the new office has 34 desks for the 24-strong workforce, meeting current social distancing guidelines and reflecting the firm's level of future ambition.

"The overall feeling is that the collaborative nature of property management is best undertake in an office environment as it allows for better working between and within teams, where we can know how busy each other is, especially those on the front line answering customer calls."

Another of the firm's directors, Joe Jobson, adds: "The office space has been configured to include a conference room with full audio-visual facilities, ideal for the 'new normal' of fewer face-to-face client meetings, and has pods for quiet working and breakout spaces to allow for more informal group meetings and building teamwork."