Case study
The Exchange, Croydon
A 66-flat block with high service charges, an open fire enforcement notice and residents who had stopped expecting answers.
This page covers our first year. Read The Exchange: three years on.
- Client
- The Exchange RTM Company
- Building
- 66 flats, Croydon
- Managed since
- October 2023
The starting point
The RTM company appointed us after years of frustration with the previous managing agent. Residents described slow communication, delayed repairs and poorly kept communal areas, while service charges kept rising.
There was also a London Fire Brigade enforcement notice to resolve, and a multi-million-pound cladding remediation programme to deliver.
What we did first
Our first priority was reducing the risk to residents and closing every item on the enforcement notice. Then we turned to the running of the building:
- a 24/7 emergency response for residents
- a detailed analysis of every cost line, and retendering of contracts
- local contractors who could respond quickly
- clear financial reporting to the directors
Results
What changed
- 17.7% lower annual service chargefor a sample flat, 2023 to 2024
- £109,593 reduction on an unpaid Thames Water billa legacy debt inherited from before our appointment
- London Fire Brigade enforcement notice clearedby repairing existing doors rather than replacing them, confirmed December 2023
- Fire safety audit: “well managed”the finding of a subsequent fire safety audit
- CCTV across the common partsinstalled to improve safety and security
- 24/7 emergency responseset up for residents from the start
- Local contractor networkfaster response times for routine repairs
Timeline
From appointment to today
- 24 February 2023London Fire Brigade serves an enforcement notice on the building’s then managing agent.
- 1 October 2023Appointed managing agent by The Exchange RTM Company, after a handover period.
- 19 December 2023London Fire Brigade confirms in writing that the enforcement notice has been complied with.
- July 2024Thames Water replaces a £208,003.93 bill with one for £98,410.36.
- 2024First full year: annual service charge for a sample flat 17.7% lower than in 2023.
Evidence
How these figures were calculated
We keep the documents behind every figure on this page and can show them to directors considering an appointment.
- 17.7% lower annual service charge
- The scheduled service charge demands for one sample flat (Flat 39), January to December: £3,276.90 in 2023, set under the previous managing agent, and £2,695.90 in 2024, our first full year. The 2024 figure includes the corrections issued for that year (£109.19 in August 2024 and £303.47 in February 2025). The reduction is £581.00 (17.7%). Both years include reserve fund contributions, and 2024 also includes a contribution towards domestic water, which was not billed in 2023. Each flat’s share differs, so other flats’ figures will vary.
- £109,593 reduction on an unpaid Thames Water bill
- Thames Water billed £208,003.93 in June 2023 for water supplied from April 2017. After we took the matter up, it was replaced by a bill of £98,410.36 in July 2024, a reduction of £109,593.57.
- London Fire Brigade enforcement notice cleared
- The notice was served on 24 February 2023. The previous managing agent had obtained a quote to replace the communal fire doors; instead, existing doors were repaired and other fire safety items put right. London Fire Brigade confirmed in a letter dated 19 December 2023 that the notice had been complied with.
- £10m+ cladding remediation programme
- The value of the remediation programme, funded by the Building Safety Fund, when we took on its coordination. This is the size of the programme, not a saving.
Cladding remediation
We coordinate the building’s cladding remediation programme, worth more than £10 million and funded through the Building Safety Fund. That means working with specialist contractors, professional advisers and the fund, and keeping residents informed throughout.
Genuinely good and professional service provided to our building, a massive step change compared to the previous management company.
Want results like this for your building?
Tell us about your building and we will arrange a free, no-obligation conversation with the directors.