Leicester property management firm sold to rival

Leicester-based property management company Pentland Estate Management has been sold to rival firm FirstPort.

Pentland is owned by Linden Homes, a subsidiary of Galliford Try and has around 12,000 customers in the UK. The firm was established in 1995 and was bought by Galliford Try a decade later.

FirstPort chief executive, Nigel Howell said: “FirstPort is already the largest residential property services manager in the UK, but complacency is not in our DNA – we are 100% committed to reaching our goal of becoming the UK’s leading residential property manager ‘as judged by others’.

“We have innovative systems and processes in place to achieve this and are progressing well with our employees more engaged than ever and increasingly positive customer feedback being received. As our service and reputation improves, our retention rate strengthens and is currently standing at 97% and despite a stagnant housing market and uncertain economic and political environment, we are seeing record growth as more clients appoint us.

“So it is exciting times and as part of our growth strategy, we are delighted to be bringing Pentland into the mix and welcoming their 12,000 customers to our business. Our mission is to make life easier for our customers: providing a local, trusted and responsive service for residents that delivers not just bricks and mortar – but a place they love to call home. We are looking forward to ensuring both colleagues and customers are able to enjoy the benefits that working for a company with our scale and scope can bring and ensuring we provide the best possible property management service to even more people across the country”

Tom Nicholson, divisional chairman at Linden Homes, added: “Linden Homes and Pentland Estate Management have always been committed to delivering a level of service to our customers that we can be proud of. We were determined to ensure that any acquiring party would share these core values. We are therefore delighted that Pentland Estate Management has been acquired by FirstPort and their commitment to continue to provide excellent service to our customers.”