Liverpool residential property agencies City Residential and Central Property Management merge lettings operations and launch new joint venture. Tony McDonough reports

City Residential and Central Property Management (CPM) are merging their Liverpool residential lettings functions and launching a rental sector joint venture.

Under the agreement City Residential is taking over the letting portfolio of CPM. It will integrate it into its existing management operation, together with the transfer of two existing members of staff. This will allow CPM to focus on its block management business.

And in a separate joint venture, the two agencies will offer a combined service in both the private rented sector (PRS) and build to rent (BTR) market.

In the PRS market the combined operation will target schemes whereby the two companies will work jointly to offer a “joined-up approach” to freeholders and leaseholders that is currently lacking in the market.

They are already in talks with a number of developers, freeholders, lenders and leaseholders to act on their behalf. In BTR the JV will look to advise, operate and manage buildings. They say this market has been dominated by national operators.

City Residential managing director Alan Bevan, said: “We have worked closely with CPM for many years with City Residential recommending CPM for block management and CPM recommending City Residential for sales.

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“So the merger of the lettings operations is a natural extension to our existing relationship. It also allows us to offer additional benefits to CPM’s current clients while allowing CPM to continue to build on their substantial growth in block management.”

The two companies will continue to operate out of both their existing offices allowing new and existing clients to benefit from having a city and docklands branch.

Sean Duffy, owner/director of CPM, added: “This deal will allow us to build on the progress we have made in becoming the leading residential block manager in the city with numerous new instructions in the pipeline.”