Hacking & Paterson, which was founded in 1922 and is based in Glasgow, has appointed property industry veteran Chris Breckenridge as chief growth officer as it looks to expand into new markets.
Mr Breckenridge, who has more than two decades of experience across the property sector working with Slater Hogg and Howison, Savills and most recently as a partner at estate agency Corum, flagged his plans to tackle public perception of the industry in which Hacking & Paterson operates as part of his new role.
Outlining expansion ambitions, he said: “Growth will come from a combination of expanding into new areas and looking at acquisitions within the sector. There is also a wider opportunity as markets evolve beyond Scotland, particularly in England and Wales as commonhold develops, as well as in Northern Ireland and Ireland.
“From day one, I will be looking at mergers and acquisitions to see how we can provide more complementary services.”
Chief executive David Doran, who also serves as chair of The Property Institute Scotland, declared Hacking & Paterson is entering a new phase after decades of steady, largely organic growth.
He said: “We’ve done things the same way for a long time, and we’re proud of where that has taken us. We have built a strong, stable business and established our company as Scotland’s leading property factor, but our ambitions now are much broader.
“We need to look at the business differently. That means investing in people with different skillsets, experience and perspectives, and bringing in Chris is a big part of that. He brings real gravitas in the property sector and will help us challenge how we think about growth.”
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Mr Doran added: “The business itself has changed dramatically over time. When I started, everything was manual. Now the pace is completely different. Customers’ expectations have changed and the level of service required is far higher. The industry is improving and we need to make sure we continue to lead it.”
Alongside the “introduction of efficiencies through artificial intelligence”, there are plans for a recruitment drive in the coming year, Hacking & Paterson revealed, adding to its team of 130.
Hacking & Paterson Management Services, which has offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh, manages nearly 80,000 properties across Scotland and describes itself as “the country’s largest property factor”. The group’s other property factor, Your Local Factor, has offices in Stirling and Aberdeen.
Hacking & Paterson noted the appointment of Mr Breckenridge follows the recent arrival of chief financial officer Gemma Roxburgh, a senior leader with more than 20 years of experience in the finance sector who joined from the Scottish Event Campus and has “significant experience in mergers and acquisitions in her previous roles”.
The company said of Ms Roxburgh: “She has been heavily involved in the creation of the firm’s new strategy for the future and is leading a wider transformation programme across finance, systems and operations.”
Mr Doran said: “Gemma has already played a key role in building the platform for our next stage of growth. We are making better use of our systems, improving how we use data and creating a more stable structure across the business so we can scale with confidence.”
Mr Breckenridge observed that “people don’t always have a positive view” of the sector.
He declared: “That is something I want to help change.
“There is a real opportunity to improve the experience for customers by bringing different parts of the property journey closer together. Having worked across the sector, I have seen where the gaps are and how frustrating that can be for buyers and homeowners.”
Hacking & Paterson said that “completing the new-look leadership team” are Gordon Douglas, who last year moved into the chief operating officer role after more than two decades in the business and is “driving transformation of the business’s operations”, and Neil Watt. Mr Watt has been with the business for 44 years and takes the position of non-executive chairman of the group.
Ms Roxburgh said: “Coming into the industry from a different background allows me to look at things through a fresh lens while learning from the depth of expertise already within the business. I’m excited to work closely with Chris and build on the strong start our new leadership team has made in the last 10 months.
“We are in the middle of a transformation programme across finance and operations. The processes we have are strong, but there is a significant opportunity to improve how we use data, automation and AI to make the business more efficient.”
She added: “The aim is to remove some of the more manual, repetitive tasks and give people more time to focus on what really matters: working with customers, building relationships and delivering a consistently high level of service.”