The History of Penny Ashton

Penny Ashton is the woman behind one of the city's most successful property management and lettings companies, handling hundreds of properties across Manchester. But it all began with a small terraced house in Crumpsall that she bought for £14,000 in 1985.

Penny reveals: "I was renting a lovely flat and didn't want to move out but realised the value of property so bought a house to let to tenants. It wasn't called buy-to-let back then but I bought it as an investment. This worked out well and soon friends and relatives asked me to find them similar properties and it snowballed from there, growing by word of mouth."

Within three years she was managing around 25 houses, owned or jointly owned nine of them and gave up her job in Manchester town hall's Housing Benefit dept. to concentrate on the business full time. Penny says: "I ran the business from home until 1990 when my son Benjamin was born and then bought offices on Victoria Avenue near to Heaton Park, Prestwich and we operated from there for 13 years."

By 1994 when her daughter Sarah was born the business was expanding rapidly.
In 2003, Penny made the decision to relocate her headquarters into Manchester city centre and after much searching found the ideal space in Parsonage Chambers beside Parsonage Gardens, behind House of Fraser.
Penny comments: "We had been successfully operating from the suburbs. I drove this move into Manchester because our properties are concentrated in the city centre and because our clients urged us to.

It's a fantastic building in a prime location round the corner from the exclusive Harvey Nichols store. With our continued expansion, more top of the range properties are required and this is the ideal spot close to high quality developments like Century Buildings, No1 Deansgate, Leftbank Spinningfields and The Edge."
Penny says: "We look after some of the most prestigious apartments in Manchester and we are the first port of call for many of the blue chip companies and agents simply because we set very high standards and offer a personal, friendly service. Our discretion and high standards mean that we are favoured by agents looking for accommodation for TV executives and premiership footballers as well as top flight companies looking to place their employees.

One of our seventeen strong team of specialist property professionals will visit prior to letting and offer advice to owners on improving the standard of presentation to ensure maximum rental income."

Penny explains: "It may just be refreshing the decor or renewing the flooring but at this level our clients expect the best. There is little value in marketing a property until it looks its best and in most cases the cost of upgrading is less than a months rent and we can arrange for the work to be done if necessary.

When we take on a property I want it to be rented out within a week, if it is not, I will want to know why and I will do something about it of course brand new apartments do not require upgrading but may require furnishing and this service can also be offered at a very competitive rate." Penny Ashtons deal exclusively in rentals and property management preferring to leave sales to the estate agents. Penny says: "This gives us an edge over agents who do both because there is no conflict of interest, and as dedicated lettings and management agents our sole focus is securing lets and minimising void periods."

Penny is incredibly bullish about the future of Manchester's city centre property market. She comments: "the market is not oversupplied and we have a list of people waiting for good top end properties to come onto the rental market. Far from there being hundreds of empty flats there is pent up demand from people looking for good quality places. Some are happy to spend over £2,000 pcm but we just do not have the properties for all of them."

Penny concludes: "Manchester is one of the best performing cities in Europe. Many businesses are relocating here and new stores keep opening which is why the demand for rental apartments will remain strong and the overall property rental scene buoyant".

Penny Ashtons are members of the National Association of Estate Agents and the National Approved Lettings Scheme.

We are also members of The Ombudsman Scheme www.oea.co.uk which provides a free, fair and independant service for dealing with unresolved disputes between Member Agents and tenants or landlords of residential property in the UK.

Penny Ashton Property Management Ltd is at Parsonage Chambers, 3 The Parsonage, Manchester. M3 2HW. 0161 832 8833.