A record year for D&L Services
A great year for Brighton building maintenance company D & L Property Services as they continue to grow in both size and reputation
It’s only a year since Latest Homes last visited and wrote about D & L Property Services, and in that time the company has grown massively. They are now dealing with two to three times the number of letting agents across the city and something in the order of 3,000 houses Directors Craig Dwyer-Smith and Andy Babbayan have been focused on this new expansion, but always with an eye on maintaining – and indeed improving – the quality of the service they can offer, and competitive pricing. It’s a policy that is clearly paying off.
We met with them to talk about where they now stand and their plans for the future. “We have certainly gone through a period of consolidation here at D & L. In the last year we have put in excellent job management systems, we have concentrated on the quality of our business, and right now we are ready to expand again,” says Craig.
“We have expanded our service offering too. We’ve always covered the key areas of general property maintenance, but now we are doing far more in terms of plumbing, heating, and gas care packages. We offer extremely competitive packages that would be very hard to beat and without ever compromising the standard of that package,” adds Andy.
“We make sure that we deliver on three key points; cost, time, and quality – all important factors in what we promise to achieve for our clients. We have also put in place excellent health and safety systems, not only out of real neccesity but also because we firmly believe in them.
“In the expansion of our offering we have implemented new levels of automated working systems, but at the same time we have employed more staff across the company to focus on and ensure that we are doing everything right. We can now take on more work, and do so knowing that we are confident we can deliver a very top-end service.
“That rationalisation and the introduction of new systems and technology has been key to our upsizing and expansion. Our capacity has risen from 200 jobs a month to 460, and we have capacity now for more work as the year goes on.
“But it’s not only at the administration end of our business that we have grown. We have gone from running 4 vehicles to 16 in the last year.
“I suppose that what we created in those last twelve months was a scaleable model, and one with which we can continue to achieve the high standards of quality that we are proud to be able to offer, whilst at the same time taking on more business. The scale of the business now means that we can react very fast in an emergency, a factor that landlords and agents really appreciate.
“In addition, we are now able to open new accounts offering very attractive, market beating terms. If we had to list our unique selling points it would be that we offer a complete service, but that we remain a local company with a local focus. We are large enough to move quickly but small enough to care about individuals, and we are a one stop shop.
“Whilst working for many of the city’s major letting agents on a regular basis, we also serve lots of private landlords with small to large portfolios who want a no hassle service, and again, at a decent price.
“In particular, we offer an excellent gas service at an unbeatable price because we have put in place a large team of experts who are out and about every day, doing gas safe services.
“Our core team includes Chloe Sands, our Office Manager. She joined us last summer and has been responsible for implementing our expansion, and brought plenty of fresh ideas and applied personal knowledge and skills that she gained with her first class business degree. She is well liked by all of our clients, is a proactive problem solver, and a massive asset to the team. Chloe is now assisted by Petra Beeny who has also taken on the coordination of our routine day to day business.
“Phil Bryant is our Operations Manager.
He has been promoted from senior on-site Project Manager, managing our major refurbishments. He now co-ordinates everything centrally. He brings 15 years building and maintenance experience to the role, and when clients call he understands what their issues are and how to deal with them. He now manages our fleet of 156 vehicles and the teams which undertake four to five hundred jobs every month.
“Out on the ground, our team has gone from strength to strength and they are valued and valuable assets to the company. They all buy into the high standards and business ethics that we demand, and this makes us a company that stands high in the current market. People are even in fact seeking employment from us, as we have a reputation for being good employers who pay good rates with excellent benefits, too.”
We are large enough to move quickly but small enough to care about individuals
What D & L Property Services are offering is a complete package, with everything from a complete refurbishment and a gas safe certificate to a new lock for a door. They are able to take away the hassle from things that can be both a nuisance and very expensive. They offer all this at a highly competitive price, and are able to work very quickly. And whilst some of their business is certainly working for the top end letting agents, maintaining high quality properties, they still work across the market and remain specialist in HMO compliance – a major part of what they do, and what they do well.
Right now they are expanding their offices, including a new locksmiths on Lewes Road which will afford them far more street presence and a chance to raise their brand awareness – vital factors for a go-ahead company that is really going places.
D & L Property Services, 85 Ditchling Road,
Brighton, BN1 4SD, 01273 600160
info@dl-ps.co.uk
www.dl-ps.co.uk
