Former Dragon James Caan’s private equity firm Hamilton Bradshaw has invested in POD Management, along with entrepreneur Faisal Butt.
The new property management company offers services for private landlords, institutions, investors and developers, as well as tenants and freeholders, with round-the-clock access to staff.
POD, which stands for Point Of Difference, aims to offer a unique platform to simplify the process of property management, including “multiple points of contact depending on [the customer’s] particular need”.
The company, which was founded by property industry veteran David Goldberg, also promises to be available 24/7 “for all enquiries, not just emergencies”, and has a focus on new technology for automated processes.
Caan said: “Ultimately, I am a backer of people, and in David we are backing a confident and proven leader who has created a company that will make us all proud in five years’ time.”
A different approach
Goldberg said: “We want POD to be different. We understand what our customers want and how they want to be dealt with, particularly in what is their most important place, their home. POD will provide a first-class customer experience.”
The firm’s technology offering includes ‘POD Connect’, for things like online payments and copies of correspondence, and ‘myPOD’, which offers personalised offers such as broadband deals, delivery services and furniture packages.
Technological advancement in the property industry has been a hot topic lately, and the adoption of new technology in property management should make things easier and more bearable, says Natallie Leong of Knight Frank.
“Property management involves a lot of documentation as we deal with different levels of people, be they government agencies, clients, developers, vendors and various suppliers,” said Leong.
“To every category of respondent, a different set of documentation is being used, such as monthly reports to clients, incident reports to tenants, purchase orders, delivery orders and service sheets — lots and lots of documents.”
