This week, Housing Hand is celebrating 9 whole years of service.
We are incredibly proud to be the UK’s market-leading guarantor provider and are honoured to mark our rapid growth over the years.
Starting out as only three employees in a small 4th-floor office in Mayfair, we have since scaled the team to require offices in Covent Garden, and finally, Camden where we have enough space for us all to be in the same office. Below, we look back on our successes and forward to our future endeavours and exciting plans for Housing Hand.
Covid-19 and Brexit have proven to be challenging times for the rental sector. As uncertainty swept the world an estimated 57% of the population in the UK were unable to work because their employer closed or lost business due to the pandemic. This, coupled with new Brexit rules complicating international students’ ability to reside in the UK, made finding rented accommodation difficult for many. Housing Hand is proud to have managed efficiently throughout, by working closely with our partners, to sustain our 100% pay-out rate on all valid claims. By rebuilding our technology, instilling new processes, and ensuring continuous insurance cover, we’ve maintained a steady standpoint through these turbulent times in the market.
We were excited to welcome James Maguire to the Housing Hand team in May 2021. Joining as Head of Sales and Business Development, with 15 years of experience in the property industry, and a history of working with notable companies Rightmove and Reapit. As a valuable asset to the team, James is bringing a breath of fresh air into the organisation and restructuring of the Sales & Business Development team. Under James’ direction, we have increased our client partnerships with mutual commercial agreements with Universities, purpose-built student accommodation, and new build-to-rent providers. Here’s what James had to say on his time so far at Housing Hand:
“From the get-go at Housing Hand, I’ve been impressed by the product offering as well as the innovative plans for growing the business further. I’ve been made to feel so welcome, in this tight-knit family at Housing Hand. I’m really looking forward to seeing us grow further in the ever-changing property landscape, as we continue to reduce barriers to rent and offer award-winning services and support to all our clients.”
Alongside expanding our team, we are pleased to have introduced additional services to our offering. Our existing services Housing Hand, UK Guarantor, Only My Share, and the House Finder Service have expanded, and we now offer a new Partner Portal and Depositless. Our new Partner Portal is a free service that has been created to enable accommodation providers across the UK and Republic of Ireland to connect with new customers and bring more sales. Depositless ensures that renters don’t pay expensive up-front deposit fees when using the Housing Hand service, meaning that they still get the same cover and don’t need to miss out on an ideal property. All of our services work cohesively to benefit our customers, partners, and providers, and ensure a smooth and cushioned renting process. In addition to the current offering, we’re pleased to also be launching two brand new services in the near future – Tenant Insurance and Lifeboat, so stay tuned for the exciting news!
This year has brought us some great new clients, but we also take pride in nurturing our traditional and long-term relationships with Universities and other partners. With the help of James and the rest of the Housing Hand team, we’ve continued to expand our relationships with Landlords, a range of purpose-built student accommodation providers, Universities, and most recently the exciting part of our build-to-rent relationships.
We continue to grow our relationships and expand on the offering of all of our services. At Housing Hand we pride ourselves on helping people who could not typically obtain properties in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, by breaking down the barriers of renting. With a massive thanks to the Housing Hand Team, we’ve managed to help over 1 million tenants find properties and stood as a guarantor for over 50,000 tenants. We look forward to another exciting year of growth and expansion, as we continue on our journey and celebrate more successes after moving into a ‘new normal’ post-pandemic and Brexit.
Happy Birthday, Housing Hand!
