09 December 2019
FirstPort, the residential property management company, has made several key appointments in recent weeks aimed at constantly improving customer service and accelerating growth in 2020.
Victoria Peake joins FirstPort as Operations Manager, leading a team of seven Regional Managers who have all joined from the recently acquired Barratt Residential Asset Management (BRAM). Working within the Large and Complex division, her team will deliver property management services across 36 developments in London to approximately 11,000 customers. Previously she was a Regional Manager at BRAM from 2013 to 2019.
Tanya Wichall has moved from FirstPort’s Retirement division where she was an Area Manager for 14 years to take up a role as Regional Manager for Large & Complex developments, overseeing developments in Surrey Quays, Isle of Dogs and Highbury (Highbury Square).
Katrina Aslet-Clark has joined FirstPort as a Regional Manager. She will lead a team of experienced Property Managers in a busy region covering over 130 developments in parts of Kent, London and Essex.
In her previous role she was responsible for overseeing both managing agent services and supported housing services. Prior to this she held other management roles managing care homes and support agencies.
Crawford Scott has been recruited to the role of Operations Director where he will manage Freehold Estates with a team of nine Property Managers and a Regional Manager. The Division, which continues to grow, is currently responsible for 21,000 properties across the country.
Richard Thwaites has been promoted to the role of Director – Property Services. The role leads FirstPort’s operational property management teams across England and Wales. Previously he was Director of Freehold Estates at FirstPort for two years and prior to that he was a Regional Manager in FirstPort’s Retirement Division, also for two years. Before joining FirstPort, he held senior roles in retail management, telecoms and wholesale insurance.
Commenting on the appointments across his own Division and that of his own role, Richard Thwaites, Director of FirstPort Property Services, said: “As a sector, residential property management has not been as progressive as other sectors, such as retail shopping or banking, which impacts on customers. That’s all set to change in the very near future and there is a great opportunity for FirstPort if we can appoint the best talent who can harness the benefits of digital transformation in particular.”
Nygel Scourfield, Managing Director of FirstPort Property Services, said: “Across our whole portfolio of thousands of homes on some 4,000 developments we deal primarily with leasehold customers. The Freehold Estates team is therefore quite different to the rest of the business but also has significant growth potential which will see Crawford and his team talking to property developers for instance, at an early stage in shaping their plans and the future management of their new build developments. For the main part of the Property Services business I’m delighted we have someone of Richard Thwaite’s ability and experience to lead the team.”
