INTERVIEW Opinion Seeingthe
Jonathan Smith iS a relative newcomer to theleaseholdsector.Aprofessional background in accountancy brought himto property viainsurance,contractcleaningand IT,where he worked for a range ofmedium- sizedcompanies turningoverbetween £15m -£60mper annum. “Thisgavemethe benefit of beinginvolvedinthe overallstructure of companiesand an insight into howthey operatebothwithintheir ownindustryand the wider market,” he explains.
Having worked briefly forChristie&Co,
Jonathan’s first real exposure to theproperty industry waswhenhejoinedTrinity in
2004.Initially responsible fordeveloping theaccounting andoperational functions -which soon expanded duetorapid growth - he wasappointedmanaging director in 2008. “I steadilybecameinvolved in allareas of the companyand soon realisedthatresidential management wasverymuchadeveloping industrywhere we as a company could make apositivecontributionand so could I by steering that company.” Trinity was verymuch in itsinfancywhen Jonathan joined, with just over 3,000 units under management.Eight yearslater thecompany ismanaging 40,000 homes. So towhat does Jonathan attribute
Trinity’ssuccessto-date andwhathas driven itsexponential growth?“Our successis downto hard work andactuallylistening to client requirements”hesays.“Wehave made somebigmistakesbut we were quicktorealise them, learnfrom them andprevent themhappeningagain. Wewere also bigenoughtoadmit to those mistakes,which goes a long way in this market.” Trinity’s directorsalsorealisedthat propertymanagement was their core business. “Unlike some others we took the commercial decision nottodiversify into other disciplines and so have avoideddistractions fromthe job of providing a professionalmanagement service,” Jonathan explains. A recent change within
the structure of the company has been for Trinitytomerge anumber
33 leSleyDaviS
talkstoJonathan Smith,Managing director of one of theUK’s largest propertymanagers, Trinity Estates
of sitespreviouslymanagedbyLondon-based propertymanagers ChainbowintoaTrinity Chainbowbrand soon to be rebrandedas ‘Trinity London’. Thethinking behind this decision was that although Trinity has a very strongregionalpresenceelsewhere in thecountry,there wasaneed to strengthen theclientbaseinLondon.“This enablesus to attractmoreproficientmanagers and provideabetterservice to ourresidents anddeveloper clients, fully tailored to life in thecapital,” Jonathan
explains.Insome instances propertymanagement canbea
BIG PICTURE
numbers gameand the more sites you have in agiven area themorecost effective and responsive youcan be,hesays. “Byacquiring the Chainbowsites we have a greater capacity to deliver an improved service more effectively.” Trinityisone of thelargestmanaging agents in the country but JonathanSmith doesn’tregarditasoperating likeabig companyand is keen to provide afriendly andprofessionallocalservice to clients. “Althoughwedeliver aservice to 600sites across EnglandandWalesand runaback office function fromourheadofficein Hertfordshire, we actually operateseven regional business unitswhich allowusto
Jonathan Smith:
property
is ourcore business
deliverour services at alocallevel,” says Jonathan. This enables Trinity to employ localstaffwho operatefrom ahome office andcan source localcontractors. Despitethis focuson ‘localism’, there are instances when Trinityis able to use its
deliver our services at a local level
Sevenbusiness
units...allowusto
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