Change of Managing Agent

Management Contract Re-tender

You will be aware that we initiated a re-tender process for the management of Emerald Square. This was in no small part due to the continued and continuing poor performance of Mainstay and Firstport, despite many commitments by them to address key issues, many of which remain outstanding despite escalation to the Firstport board. One of these issues relates to the assumptions underlying the budget for 2022/23. As soon as we have these we will communicate further.

We received tenders from Mainstay, Urang and a further company Encore. We received extensive responses to our invitation to tender and carried out due diligence on each, including contacting other developments managed by them and meeting their senior management teams.

Urang

After extensive due diligence, we have decided to award the management contract to Urang Property Management Limited (“Urang”).

Urang is a smaller but growing company for which we will be a sizeable customer. We met their managing director, the proposed property manager for Emerald Square and the transition team who will manage the handover. We were impressed by the references we received as well as the team we met. Urang are fully aware of the issues we have encountered with Mainstay/Firstport and the need to address these.

You can read more about Urang on their website, www.urang.co.uk.

Transition

We have given 3 months' notice to Mainstay as our agreement requires. The new contract will therefore begin on 1 March 2023. Given the recent performance of Firstport, and while they continue to have a duty of care to Emerald Square, we are under no illusion that the transition will be challenging.

As with all managing agents, we are also under no illusion that the performance of our new managing agent will reflect the time and effort put in by your Board. We will work closely with Urang to ensure that customer service levels, in particular, meet the standards we have set. Customer satisfaction is a central part of the agreement we have reached with them.

Communications

As the transition proceeds and we approach the handover date, we will update you further. If you haven’t already done so, please sign up to our website www.emeraldsquare.co.uk which explains the residents’ management company and its role and where we post updates and other useful information such as local handymen, plumbers and electricians.