Member Article

Lettings agency builds on five years of success

A North East lettings agency is celebrating five years of steady growth in the region, despite the economic downturn.

Easington-based Castledene Group, one of the largest lettings companies in the North East, was established by managing director John Paul in August 2008, to provide property management, property investment and property maintenance services.

It has since expanded to employ 33 members of staff, who manage more than 1,850 properties in the region across six branches including Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Cleveland and Durham.

Entrepreneur John Paul, 35, was inspired to set up the agency after clearing out some paperwork belonging to his late father. He came across a business plan that his dad had written years earlier about buying and renting out properties, and so decided to make his father’s plan into a reality.

In spite of the tough economic climate over the past five years, John has consistently grown the business through a series of acquisitions, including Property Finders North East Ltd, as well as the development, refurbishment and construction of properties within the group’s portfolio.

John has been the driving force behind the company’s success at a range of business awards, including this year’s renowned Sunday Times Lettings Agency of the Year Awards 2013, where the team achieved Gold in the Medium Northern Lettings Agency category.

The Castledene Group is also the first lettings agency to win Investors in People (IIP) Gold, which represents achievement of world-class best practice in people management. Staff at the agency are all trained to Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) standards.

John Paul said: “We’re delighted to be celebrating our fifth anniversary. We’ve come such a long way since setting up the business in 2008 and I’m very thankful to have the support of a great team who have been instrumental in our success, and who have tackled the challenging economic climate head-on.

“We have many more exciting plans for the coming months, and we hope to continue to grow and maintain our reputation as a leading letting agency in the region, providing the very highest standards of customer service.”

The group has launched a ‘Rent to Own’ scheme through its Interlet branch, which enables potential homeowners to purchase a property with a small commitment fee and at a pre-agreed price, and allows the tenant to move into their new home straight away.

The scheme is aimed at those having problems getting onto the housing ladder whether they are self employed with less than three years of accounts, don’t have enough savings for a deposit or if they have a poor credit rating, county court judgements or arrears. It allows people to repair their credit file as they pay for their deposit alongside the rent.

John Paul also plans to set up a not for profit training company in the coming months to train the group’s tenants in basic IT skills, to assist with job searching and the government’s introduction of Universal Credit.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Uniquethinking PR team .