Property specialist Centrick today announced ambitious plans for growth across its property solutions services alongside the sale of its high street sales and lettings business.
The firm, which has been growing consistently in property services for almost two decades, has taken the decision to move away from high street estate and lettings agency to focus on delivering industry leading property management and associated professional services to the residential property sector.
Its high street division has been acquired by the Lomond Group and will operate under its John Shepherd brand. The deal involves teams in Nottingham, Solihull and Birmingham, with 25 staff transferring across.
Centrick’s new initiatives include a £1 million investment in tech solutions to deliver best-in-class resident engagement, further strengthening its dedicated and market-leading Building Safety & Compliance service, as well as a new 3,500 sq ft ‘Centrick Academy’ – an industry-first dedicated training facility aimed at growing grass-roots talent and raising both technical ability and service standards for Centrick staff and the wider property management community.
Driving the move is the continued exponential growth Centrick has seen within its building and estate management division and RICS valuation services, as well as its established portfolio PRS asset management division, which it will continue to operate from its HQ in central Birmingham as well as offices across the country in Manchester, Sheffield, London and Hampshire.
This, coupled with a significant pipeline which will see the group replace the high street agency portfolio and turnover in H1 and the success of its Build to Rent (BTR) services brand, VICI, in addition to the launch of Centrick Invest which offers new homes to domestic and international purchasers and investors further cements the group’s credentials as a trusted property partner and advisor to institutional and private funds, investors and developers.
Centrick, which has been proudly independent since inception in 2005, started life in building and estate management services before branching out into high street agency in 2007. In today’s move away from high street agency, which now represents the smallest part of the group, considerable thought has been given to its valued customers, clients, and the expert teams that service them, with the goal to transition to a provider that shares Centrick’s ethos of excellent service.
Its chosen partner John Shepherd boasts both the infrastructure and service standards that Centrick is confident puts its customers and team in the best hands.
Centrick founder James Ackrill said:
“Our ambition as a group has always been to deliver a truly exceptional service, building a team of highly skilled property professionals that care about our clients and the residents we support.
“We recognise the need for focus and depth in our specialisms in order to deliver on our long-term plans and commitment to clients today, as well as into the future. This move puts the group in a really strong position to focus consistently on those specialisms and continue to enhance our already high service levels, aligning our teams around the needs of our clients.
“Our high street agency has always been extremely successful, holding numerous awards and top positions in a number of areas, driven by incredible property professionals. We are grateful and genuinely thankful to all the people that have been part of the Centrick family. All of the Centrick high street agency team will be transferring to John Shepherd who have a long and trusted history. This means that all of our high street clients will continue to be looked after by the people they already know and trust without any loss of service.”
He added:
“Looking forward to our third decade as the leading independent property services operator, we are committed to building on our team of talented, knowledgeable property experts and driving national industry standards forwards.”
About Centrick
Centrick’s vision is simple, “To make customers’ lives better everyday, the Centrick way” and for almost 20 years Centrick has nurtured, driven and grown its team by delivering industry leading service. Centrick prides itself on being a company of knowledgeable industry experts with a trusted, joined-up approach to all aspects of residential property. Innovation is at the heart of everything it does, helping it to adapt to the ever-changing market. This is all underpinned with a strong ethical code of trust and family values, where the team works as one to deliver exceptional service. National residential property experts, Centrick is forward-thinking and agile; always looking for new ways to work flexibly to meet the needs of its clients, using its strength and depth, across the property sector. By investing in talent, leading the way on industry practices, developing its technology and systems, it delivers an outstanding service to clients. Providing services across the UK, with offices across the country including Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, London and Hampshire.
- New homes
- Build to Rent – BTR, Student & SFH
- Valuation
- Professional Services
- Asset Management
- Insolvency
- Estate Management
