Our E.S.G Policy

Northwood Stoke on Trent are constantly monitoring and assessing how we impact on our environment, we look to make improvements where and when affordable, we like to work on the principle that if we all do as much as we can then we will make a huge change.

Upgraded office space

We moved to our new offices based at 333 Hartshill Road, Stoke on Trent ST4 7NR in 2014, the building was a former bank which was in a dire state of repair, so we set about the process of upgrading and redesigning it so it was fit for purpose and bespoke to our requirements. We kept an eye on our impact to the environment as an important part of the design and build process.

Firstly, we believe that choosing to bring the 1960’s building back into use rather than knocking it down was the environmentally friendly option saving the Co2 emissions associated with building work.

We introduced double glazed windows, upgraded the heating systems to ones that are far more efficient and introduced air filtration system to increase the comfort of our team’s working environment. We installed ultra-low emission LED lighting throughout the building and increased the insulative properties of the building.

Our next focus is upgrading our fleet of four company cars to electric or hybrid which we are in the process of, and we are very proud to be the first estate agent in the area to install a car charging point. We aren’t stopping here and have more ideas and plans in the pipeline to improve our impact on the environment as finances permit.

Digitalisation

We have further improved our digital presence, using exciting new, ever developing technologies to dramatically reduce our reliance on print, paper and stationery, we saw a massive 77% reduction in this area year on year March 2020 to March 2021 as we strive to become as near paperless as possible.

Northwood in Stoke have a huge commitment to our local area, from simple gestures like sponsoring the local resident’s association Christmas tree to actively encouraging inward investment to our area.

Local Investment

We are constantly driving inward investment from our landlord clients and investors alike. We are very proud that the Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme areas are our home towns. It’s a joy to advise clients on where to buy, areas that are on the up, finding suitable properties for them to be able to add value and thus be able to offer great home to our neighbours.

Our clients are often buying properties, refurbishing them and bringing them to a standard above that required by the unfit homes standards, often improving the energy efficiency of the properties along the way.

We are often asked to manage these properties on behalf of the investors, and so ongoing maintenance and improvement is inevitably required to continue to meet required safety obligations and for general maintenance to keep the property in good order. This is where we do our utmost to find great local trades people, making sure that the local economy benefits from every pound spent.

Contractors

Contractors are regularly used to perform maintenance tasks on our managed properties, they are an extension of our team and are expected to have similar values to Northwood. We pay all invoices promptly and have been dealing with many of our contractors since we opened our doors.

We also work with several trusted partners who we also see as an extension of our team. These trusted partners offer useful additional services such as financial advice and allow us to offer a full service to our clients. These partners must have similar levels of compliance to ourselves and an attitude to their teams that we can all be proud of.

Our Team

It is an honour to be able to serve our team. We offer the best possible working environment that we can, invest in technologies and regular training to make their day as easy as possible, and give continued personal development. We pay fixed salaries with opportunities to earn commissions and bonuses to enhance our team’s personal circumstances, no-one works on a zero-hour contract. Our team predominantly work full time although a couple of our team work on a part-time basis to fit around their personal commitments. We understand that they may need time to visit school for a child’s assembly or sports day, it’s understood that we all have the odd crisis that needs sorting so simple flexibility is a given. The most important bit is that we all strive to be better than our competition and have some fun along the way.

Northwood (Stoke on Trent) Limited is wholly owned by Darren Hawkins and Daryl Perkins, we are part of the Franchise network of offices via Northwood G.B. Limited which is part of the Belvoir Group PLC.

Standards are set at a group level cascading through the business structure to ensure our legal compliance and obligations are met, we have access to legal support to keep us doing the right thing for our clients and keep us ahead of the competition.

We attend regular support meetings to help us better understand the direction of the market we all work within. They also provide the opportunity to meet suppliers and share best practice keeping us at the top of our game. We pride ourselves on being a local business with the advantage of a national team through the Franchise Offices in Grantham.

Protection for clients

We are members of The Property Ombudsman (TPO) giving us access to their ‘Code of Practice’ which we follow. The TPO also offers a free independent redress scheme to our clients if they were ever unhappy with the service they receive.

We handle client monies, may it be rents in that need passing to our landlord clients or our tenants deposit monies, these must be held safely. Northwood were instrumental in setting up the Propertymark scheme, we have since seen this become an area of compliance that must legally be adhered to. Propertymark still work with us today to ensure the safe handling of all client monies offering (CMP) Client Money Protection.

Compliance

We are regularly audited by our Franchise Office and the audit team at Belvoir Group PLC to check our processes and execution of legislation and compliance are all correct. This gives confidence to our clients that we are going to give the best possible advice and service available.

We endeavour to update this page regularly as our ESG journey progresses. If you have any ideas or suggestions to help us, please feel free to let us know.