Today (Wednesday 9th May 2018), the future of property management, was the hot topic of discussion at an exclusive roundtable event in London, attended by key figures in the property management industry such as Ben Lerner (MD of Qube), Duncan Rendall (CEO of Rendall and Rittner) and John Redfern (Director of Property Management at Savills). Hosted by Building Relations PR and chaired by Faisal Butt of Pi Labs and Spire Ventures, the event covered a range of topics relevant to the debate.

Both traditional property management companies and PropTech ‘disrupters’ discussed how the sector is in need of change, and as stakeholders, together they can transform property management industry. Many topics were covered at the roundtable including how to integrate and best extract value out of property technology in both traditional and new buildings, the role of technology in collecting and processing data to streamline processes, improve decision making and provide a better end-user experience and of course not forgetting the all important bottom line – with many technological advances coming at a cost.

Faisal Butt, who chaired the discussion said: “We need to embrace technological advances to improve openness, connectivity and functionality whilst understanding the importance of empathy and the need to engage with real people. It’s a fine balance to get right and there is no one size that fits all approach. The roundtable event was a great opportunity to discuss all aspects of how technology is disrupting the world of property management and to understand all the issues of this ever-changing market place.”

Rachel Colgan, MD of Building Relations PR says: “The property industry is now being forced to face a technological shift. Events like this help to raise the issues and allow everyone to understand the challenges that are faced.”

The full list of attendees included:

  • Tim Baker, Transformation Director, RE_SET
  • Faisal Butt, Founder & CEO, Pi Labs and Spire Ventures
  • Yvonne Coombes, Marketing Communications Officer, Encore Group
  • Johanna Courtney, Managing Director, The Digital Marketing Bureau
  • James Davis, Founder & CEO, Upad
  • David Goldberg, Founder & CEO, POD Management
  • Ben Lerner, Managing Director, Qube Operations
  • Laurence Levy, Assistant Surveyor, CBRE
  • Isla MacFarlane, Online Editor, Showhouse magazine
  • Veer Mehta, Investment Analyst, Spire Ventures
  • Rajeev Nayyar, Managing Director, Fixflo
  • Philip Oades, Estates Manager, Mount Anvil
  • John Redfern, Director of Property Management, Savills
  • Duncan Rendall, CEO & Founder, Rendall & Rittner
  • Tom Shrive, Co-Founder & CEO, Ask Porter
  • Paul Unger, Publisher, PlaceTech
  • Esha Vatsa, VC Investor, Pi Labs
  • Kevin Watson, Operations & Commercial Director, PLATFORM_
  • Debra Yudolph, Partner, SAY Property Consulting