Commercial Property Shake-Up in Wellington

Media Release
Embargoed until 6.00am, Tuesday 17 October, 2006

Commercial Property Shake-Up in Wellington

Prime Property Management has sold its business to Livingstones Wellington Ltd Co-owner Alison Pharaoh with her staff will join the Livingstones team while David Tuck will carry on business on his own account.

Prime staff have moved into the Livingstones premises, merging two of the most experienced teams in Wellington commercial property management.

Crispin Mylne, general manager of Livingstones Wellington, said today: “We are the largest independent property company dedicated to property management services in Wellington and know the Wellington commercial market exceptionally well.

“For the Prime clients it will be business as usual but they will now be supported by a large pool of talent in all areas of property”.

“Livingstones was founded on family values and as an independent property management company this philosophy has remained in tact. No commercial property is too big or too small. However, the systems we have in place are second to none, with our success built on personal care and responsibility,” Crispin said.

“Our client base is diverse and consequently we manage all types of property from small retail units, to high rise commercial office buildings, industrial properties, retail shopping centres, body corporates and anything in between tailoring our management service to meet the varying needs of our clients”

Livingstones is a family business founded in Christchurch in 1919. Although relatively new to the Wellington scene, arriving in 2004 when it expanded into the Wellington market by acquiring Cranmer Property Resources meaning it was firmly established in the city from day one. Barry Smith, the principal of Cranmer, has continued as an Executive Director of Livingstones Wellington Ltd.

One of Livingstones unique points of difference is that our core business is property management – we are not an agency-based company, with property management clipped on the side. Although commercial real estate and valuation is offered by Livingstones in Christchurch, our business is primarily commercial property management.

Our main asset is our people. We believe there is a chronic shortage of tailored commercial property management services in the current market. Our people with their combined 70 years experience between them can, and are, filling this void. We build relationships with people – our clients, our tenants and our service providers.

“We have specialist technical expertise in all facets of retail and commercial property management – we do not offer a one-size-fits-all approach. If a client comes to us looking for a commercial property solution, they will deal with an experienced commercial property professional. Similarly, if a retail solution is required, clients will work with dedicated retail experts.

“We operate a state-of-the-art accounting system and can provide a level of accounting service to suit all situations,” Crispin said. This can be anything from preparation of annual rental and operating expense budgets, to rental collection through to full property accounting either on a cash or accruals basis

The acquisition of the Prime business now means Livingstones is the largest independent property management team in Wellington. Its four principals are:
• Crispin Mylne, general manager;
• Barry Smith, executive director;
• Anna Smith, regional retail manager;
• Alison Pharaoh, business development manager
There is also depth within the Wellington team with four specialist property, body corporate and facilities managers.

Both Barry and Alison say it was the synergies and like-minded philosophies of Livingstones that led them to sell their businesses to Livingstones.

“The commitment to service, independence and integrity led me to sell my business to Livingstones, added to which, the capacity they could bring to my business in terms of resources to help us grow in the Wellington market,” Barry said.

The story is similar for Alison. “From within Livingstones we knew we could continue to offer the personal service, the commitment to clients and the ability to continue to think creatively for smarter solutions, while also having access to their people and processes,” said Alison.

Livingstones nationally has earned a reputation for excellence in management, retail consultancy and leasing with over $1.5 billion under professional management.

“In Wellington we have a team of people experienced in the Wellington commercial property market under the umbrella of New Zealand’s largest independent property managers with unparalleled expertise. Our team is looking forward to offering the same personal service while continuing to identify growth opportunities and providing successful management strategies and innovative solutions,” Crispin concluded.

Ends

© Scoop Media