OWG UPDATE

OWG Board owgboard at gmail.com
Fri Dec 30 15:32:27 GMT 2022


Dear Leaseholders

We hope that you had a lovely Christmas and are looking forward to the New
Year. We are writing to update you on a number of upcoming changes for
2023.

Following the successful completion of the external refurbishment the OWG
Board has shifted its focus to other matters, such as trying to reign in
the spiralling costs caused by the current financial climate.

One of the main changes is that we have decided not to renew our contract
with Westbourne Block Management and have appointed Anderson, Wild & Harris
(AWH) as our managing agents from 1st January 2023.

After a comprehensive tender process and discussions with three prospective
managing agents, the Board finally decided that AWH could offer the most
suitable service for One Warrington Gardens. There were a number of factors
that lead to the decision but the main ones were:

• AWH came highly recommended by someone, well known to One Warrington
Gardens, who has experience working with a number of managing agents in the
area and who found AWH well organised, professional, and courteous. Further
investigations showed that AWH had similar positive reviews from others.
Unfortunately, we could not say the same for the other two contenders.

• AWH has a well-structured approach to communication which we believe will
be appreciated by residents and leaseholders as well as the Board. The
Building will have a dedicated contact (Jordan Joseph (Property Manager)
and Ramila Mistry (Property Administrator)); there will be regular site
visits and a full out-of-hours service for building related emergencies
such as Fire, Flood, Full/Part Electrical Power failure, Health & Safety
issues, Unsecured Communal Doors, Communal Alarms, Lift failure, Plant or
door failure (such as to the garage),broken windows, vermin issues etc.

• AWH will also take on the management of staff (which is a challenge for a
small, volunteer Board) ensuring their welfare whilst maintaining a high
standard of service in the Building.

You will have already received letters of introduction through the post and
in person introductions will be made in January. We sincerely believe that
this is an extremely positive change and we look forward to working with
AWH in the New Year.

Once AWH has settled in we will be working with the firm to refine our
medium to long term goals for the Building. There continue to be a number
of challenges moving forwards but all can be addressed effectively with
careful planning.

As you are all aware electricity and gas prices are sky rocketing and it
has been extremely difficult to find a palatable deal for 2023. Three years
ago, our annual budget was £12,000 p.a. Next year they are forecast to be
significantly more. The best quote that WBM was able to secure was £60,000
for the coming year. However, with the help of AWH we have been able to
source and negotiate a quote for £48,000 for 2023, whilst this is best deal
available it is still a huge increase to our historical budget of £12,000.

Our initial investigations suggest that approximately ⅓ of our annual
electricity consumption is used by the garage lighting  alone. Another ⅓ of
our annual 70,000 kWh of electricity is used by the lighting in the lift
lobbies A couple of years ago we upgraded all the lighting in the
stairwells to motion-activated LED lights in a move away from 24-hour-a-day
illumination in an area infrequently used. The estimated savings as a
result of that simple upgrade is £6,400 p.a. at the current electricity
rates. We are therefore working with AWH to seek quotations and solutions
to install motion-activated lighting in the garage and lift lobbies as soon
as possible.

Due to our increased expenses there will be a change to the Budget and
service charge payable next year. The new Budget will be circulated as soon
as possible however please expect a slight as we get up-to-speed with our
new managing agents AWH.

We wish you all a very Happy New Year and look forward to a fresh start in
2023.

Best Wishes


*The Directors OWG Management Company Limited*

[1] We illuminate the garage with 49 fluorescent lights which are 57W on
average. They operate 24 hours a day 365 days a year. This is a total of
24,467 kWh of electricity p.a. Just a few years ago that would have cost us
£2,929 p.a. Next year it will cost us £13,328.
[2] We illuminate the twelve lift lobbies with 48 fluorescent lights which
are 57W on average. They currently operate 24 hours a day 365 days a year.
This is a total of 23,967 kWh which will cost us £13,056 in 2023.
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