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Our Story
In April 2015, the co-founders and managing partners of JFM, James Farrar & Joe Mallon, did something extraordinary.
They started a new managing agency from scratch and began building it into one of the success stories of the block & estate management sector. This was done by creating a service designed for consumers. Our aim was to increase the control and improve the experience of homeowners who paid service charges. This meant being more open, giving more choice and being more transparent.
This focus on consumer-empowerment encouraged JFM to develop an intelligent approach to property management. We knew no two blocks or estates were the same. That’s why we set out to develop a working relationship tailored to each set of people we worked with.
The result of this approach? Read on and see for yourself.
JFM was incorporated
February 2015 – James & Joe’s first website photos were self-shot on one of their mobiles in a park just down the road from James’ flat ?
JFM commenced trading
April 2015 – JFM commenced trading with zero clients and zero leads, so the early days were spent walking the streets delivering flyers to local blocks of flats
Humble beginnings
May 2015 – Humble beginnings – first small office was secured in Research House in Perivale, West London
First Clients
July and August 2015 – first clients had been secured in Hendon, Watford and Reading.
Accredited by the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership (LKP)
October 2015 – Due to JFM’s ethical stance in putting the focus back on consumers and highlighting some of the problems inherent in the industry, JFM became accredited by the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership (LKP)
Move to second office
November 2015 – Sufficient contracts had been signed for JFM to start looking to the future and making space for some staff, thereby moving upstairs in the same building to their 2nd and (slightly) larger office
First full time employee
January 2016 – JFM’s first full-time employee, Luisa, started working with us
JFM’s first birthday
April 2016 – JFM had recently turned one year old and had acquired 28 blocks/estates under management, amounting to 1,160 homes under management
JFM move to their third office
October 2016 – Now 1.5 years old, JFM moved to their 3rd office in Eastcote, West London, and were up to 6 staff members
JFM win their biggest contract
May 2016 – JFM won their biggest contract to-date – Wilmington Close – a 153-unit mixed-use development in Watford
Hot 100
October 2016 – James & Joe were both named in the Hot 100 selected by industry press as two of the most influential people in the leasehold industry nationally
Full ARMA members
April 2017 – JFM became full ARMA members in the shortest timeframe possible (2 years)
JFM move to their fourth office
June 2017 – Into our 4th office, but on our first lease – home in Harrow, NW London, for at least the next 5 years. Team now up to 9 staff members
Finalists in the Property Management Awards
December 2017 – Finalists in the Property Management Awards (PMAs) for the ‘Best Managing Agent of an RMC/RTM Block’ with 1,699 units under management across 47 blocks/estates
Higher-end developments
January 2018 – with JFM now nearly 3 years’ old, higher-end developments started to trust in the fact that we were here to stay – our contract with Scotts Sufferance Wharf in SE1 commenced
Winners of our first national award
July 2018 – Winners of our first national award – ‘Best Medium-sized Managing Agent’ at the ARMA ACE Awards 2018! Now up to 12 staff members
Hot 100
October 2018 – James & Joe are again voted in the Hot 100 as two of the most influential people in the country in the leasehold sector
Winners of ‘London Property Manager of the Year’
November 2018 – Winners of ‘London Property Manager of the Year’ in the Property Management Awards. Clients under management now up to 57 equating to approx. 2,000 homes
JFM turns 4 years old
April 2019 – JFM turns 4 years old and celebrates with a crazy golf tournament with the team
Winners of two more awards
July 2019 – Winners of two more awards! This time in the categories of ‘Customer Service Award’ and ‘Site Staff Member of the Year’ in the ARMA ACE Awards
Signed contracts for our two largest developments
August 2019 – Signed contracts for the two largest and most prestigious developments yet in JFM’s portfolio. Team now up to 16 staff members and over 3,000 units under management.
Finalists in employer of the year
September 2019 – JFM are announced as finalists in the category of ‘Employer of the Year’ in the Property Management All-Stars Awards. The team now stands at 17 team members, winners of 4 national awards in 3 successive awards ceremonies and a portfolio standing at over 80 blocks/estates equating to approx. 3,500 homes under management
A number of exciting announcements
October 2019 – The team celebrate their annual ‘Company Day’ during which a number of exciting announcements are made, including: A New Mission Statement // Our New Website // The Best Employee Benefits Package In The Sector // Thrilling Top-Secret Trial Commencing 2020 (to be announced in due course) //and declare a change of direction for the company – making it all about our Brilliant Staff!
Property Management Awards Winners in 3 out of 4 award categories shortlisted for
November 2019 – PMAs winners in 3 out of the 4 award categories we were shortlisted for, including Winner of Concierge of the Year and Highly Commended in both Best Managing Agent of an RMC/RTM Block and Customer Service Award.
JFM secures an extension to their office space
November 2019 – JFM takes the entirety of the 2nd floor in their building in Harrow, NW London, effectively doubling the size of their office and enabling the room for considerable potential growth over the next 5 years
Covid Strikes
March 2020 – JFM send staff home to work remotely ahead of any announcement. JFM’s daily check-ins and challenges commence to oversee staff welfare and keep up morale.
Sixth Birthday
June 2021 – After a long period (which felt much longer!), and now with restrictions relaxed sufficiently for the team to enjoy themselves in person once again, the guys are treated to a private BBQ and Magician at a local pub. The feeling of release was tangible!
Covid Reunion
July 2020 – the team come together socially distanced in the local park to see each other’s faces after months of working remotely
And it grows further
October 2021 – JFM takes on its first Helipad under management! (as well as its 2nd hotel as part of a mixed-use scheme)
Our ‘Large / Prime’ Portfolio Grows
September 2021 – Larger sites are becoming more of the norm, with JFM continually raising the minimum management fee for new clients
Company Day ‘21
Oct 2021 – Bigger and better than ever before, we treat our fabulous team to half a day’s worth of presentations based in Metro Bank’s HQ in Holburn and then on to team-building and fun at The Crystal Maze Experience and ‘London Never Dies’ at The London Cabaret Club
Awards Continue
November 2021 – Like there was never a break, the awards make their return after an enforced COVID break of 2 years! JFM, however, continues where it left off, with us being shortlisted for 6 of 7 awards entered (including Pandemic Response Award) and winners of ‘Regional Property Manager of the Year’. The team is now 32 strong ?
Asana
January 2022 – After a lot of preparation work, we successfully enrolled a new project/task management software ‘Asana’ which has been a huge improvement for managing issues on site and working effectively in teams with people across departments. Some of you might have come across some of our new features, like the issue reporting tool on our website.
ARMA Ace Awards 2022
June 2022 – The rolling awards success continues. JFM managed to be shortlisted for 2 awards at the ARMA Ace Awards and picked up both awards that night. The team is very proud of the “Managing Agent of the Year” award and enjoyed a great night together celebrating the success!
Legends Property Management 50 Award
September 2022 – Our managing partner James Farrar was selected as a winner in the PM50 Awards, and in the category of LEGENDS, no less! And we agree, a true legend.
Company Day
October 2022 – The Team spent a day packed with training, company presentations, debates and lots of team building. The content of the different company presentations was digested on a dinner train that took us back to 1937 where a mysterious murder happened that had to be solved by the team.
JFM acquires their latest fabulous client!
In just two years, JFM went from a two-man start-up to an established company, with 10 staff and 50 developments under management.
Fast forward to today (October 2023) and JFM are a multi-award-winning firm with a fantastic team of 42 office staff, 31 site staff, and approx. 6,923 homes under management across 85 blocks and estates.
We’re seen as one of the success stories in the industry of recent times and recognised by many as the industry-leader in consumer-focused block & estate management.
The future looks more exciting still. Be sure to come and check this page out again in the near future as our exciting story evolves.
The below illustrations show the rate of growth over the last (nearly) 8 years since JFM began trading. You’ll note that while we managed almost the same number of blocks/estates two years ago as we do now (February 2023), our total number of units has increased. This is because we’ve been strategically working towards managing fewer, but larger, schemes. To enable us to do this it’s meant us resigning around 45 clients periodically over the last years.
One thing we have always been very conscious of is growing too fast. This is why for the majority of our existence we have had our marketing paused. We also started being more selective with the clients we accepted. Consequently, despite what unquestionably has been a very successful number of years, JFM has grown at a rate that we’ve been comfortable with. We have never targeted growth at the expense of quality of service, and we think this is evident to anyone who looks at our record in the industry’s high-profile awards ceremonies, not to mention our excellent online review scores.
JFM started off life only serving Resident Management Companies. We relaxed our stance on this when people who were unable to exercise their Right-to-Manage (RTM) or buy the freehold of their block of flats, for whatever reason, started pointing out that we were perhaps side-lining those who maybe needed our consumer-focused style of management more than anyone else. This has not stopped us being highly Resident Management Company (RMC) centric, however, with 89% of our clients (as of February 2022) being RMCs (incorporating RMC / RTM / FHMC / Head Lessors) where the homeowners of the block/estate are our direct client.
The chart below shows the split of our Client Types in more detail.
Key:
RMC – Resident Management Company (those written into the lease from inception)
RTM – Right-to-Manage Company (those who have exercised their legal right to take control of their block)
FHMC / Head Lessors – Freehold Management Company / Head Leaseholders (those who have collectively purchased the head lease or freehold of their block/estate)
Freeholder – Where the freeholder is owned by an entity other than the homeowners of that block/estate
Note: In terms of day-to-day management, RMCs, RTMs, and FHMCs are all very similar; all being types of homeowner-control
The below graphic shows the breakdown of our client sizes in unit numbers.
Indicative Quote & Free Inspection
It will take just 5-10 minutes on the phone for us to run through key details about your building so we can produce an indicative quote for you. You can use this as a rough guide to see if we are a good match for your building. If we are competitive, you’ll be entitled to a free site inspection.
As part of an inspection we will undertake a detailed review of your block/estate which we use to produce a full fee proposal. Simply enter your details below for more information.