A newly formed right-to-manage company has appointed Principle Estate Management to look after its exclusive apartment blocks worth a total of more than £0.25 billion in central London.
Portman Towers is located just off Portman Square and opposite Montagu Square in the highly sought after W1 postcode area, within a short walk of Selfridges and Marylebone High Street.
The property hosts a total of 88 apartments across 11 storeys in two blocks, with each residence commanding a value of £3m or more, resulting in a total value exceeding £0.25 billion.
Principle’s London office won the prized job after a tender process run by The Property People, a specialist consultancy which regularly handles property management changes in the capital city.
The contract with the property’s new right-to-manage company (RTM) will now be managed by Geovanni Pinto, the senior property manager in Principle’s London office
Joe Jobson, joint managing director at Principle, said: “We are thrilled to have won this new contract to look after such a high value property in London’s Marylebone area.
“We were successful in our tender by being quite honest and yet very positive about how we would deal with several issues we considered were crucial for the future management of Portman Towers.
“This included the property’s 24-hour concierge service, which we felt could be maximised with better job descriptions, expert team training, and the development of a strategic approach to ensure more efficient, proactive approaches.
“As part of our 100-day promise, we will be focusing on improving common entrances, potentially working with interior designers we can recommend from previous similar jobs we have overseen.
“We also explained how we would look after what is a significant amount of plant equipment and machinery at the property, focusing on statutory requirements for testing and maintenance to make sure they are adequate and performing optimally.
“After an initial inspection by our surveying team, we also suggested priority maintenance for issues like possible water leaks in the car park, heating pipes and loose wiring in the communal areas.
“We also found that residents were currently charging electric vehicles (EVs) off the landlord’s supply, which might lack the necessary electrical capacity for each parking space without risking power disruptions across the building.
“We therefore advised that we could quickly assess the cost of installing a modern EV charging infrastructure, and how we would use our experience to work with specialist contractors if Portman Towers required substantial electrical upgrades.”
Sandeep Singh, director of The Property People, said: "The new RTM wanted to ensure that residents received high-quality concierge services and that the high-value common areas of this prestigious apartment block were fully maintained and future-proofed.
“Principle also stood out as the right agent to trust with the various upcoming major works projects, delivering value-for-money services essential for a property of this scale.
"The tender process was in-depth and rigorous, and choosing from the final shortlist of agents was no easy task. However, both the residents and I felt that Principle was ultimately the best fit for this building, with the expertise and vision to meet its unique requirements. The RMT is now genuinely excited to begin this partnership with them.”
Launched in 2018, Principle now has more than 70 staff looking after a portfolio of nearly 20,000 units at around 400 developments across the UK.
