Collingwood Road, Levenshulme, M19

Established in 1981, the humble beginnings of Montrose Properties began in the front lounge of a semi-detached house on Fog Lane, and borrowed its name from the leafy Montrose Avenue in West Didsbury, where the first property on the books was located.

Soon to be re-located to, what is still our current location, the old florist shop on the corner of Lapwing Lane and Clyde Road, Montrose steadily grew its portfolio of affordable flats and bedsits and an increasing amount of student accommodation.

Over the years, in which was classed in the early days as a relatively deprived area, came an upturn. Many of the large period type properties of Clyde and Old Lansdowne Road that were once bedsits were re-developed into smart apartments and the introduction and investment of the small independent shops and bars, made West Didsbury one of the most popular locations to live in Manchester. With this came further expansion for us.

We fast outgrew our tiny shop premises and expanded into the neighbouring property to increase our office back room space. Although the retail office is a modern and pleasant place to do business, it remains largely unchanged. Not being part of the main high street has its advantages, as customer parking is invaluable.

Montrose is 100% owned by husband and wife team, Robert and Jennifer Wildblood who are involved on a daily basis. Jen has worked for the company since she was a teenager in the 80's and Rob since 1991, purchasing the business from the retiring owners in 1996. Being Landlords themselves for many years, they understand the needs and pressures involved and are keen to stress the importance of the company being able to offer a friendly, professional service with a mind to treat the property they manage for others as their own.

Having a strong team is important. Ben Smith has been our loyal general manager since 1994 and is also a Landlord. Along with a low staff turnover from a range of backgrounds this adds up to a wealth of experience.

We are judged not just by how efficiently we can let and manage properties, but how quickly and effectively we can carry out repair works. Our On Line Reporting software not only helps speeds up repair times, but is an essential date and time stamped record of notifications to help us keep on improving our service.

We see ourselves as the bond between landlord and tenant and provide a service to an essential part of people's lives. Not only is it full of legislation and legal requirements, it's dealing with peoples' homes.

Being part of the community is important to us and being involved in local funding, sponsorship and charities fundamentally helps the local area to be an attractive place to be.

We may not be part of a multi branch chain or large franchise, but we are a stable, local business providing excellent, more personal service to landlords, tenants and local contractors which benefits all.