Frequently asked
questions.
Straight answers about what Hostcol does, who we work for and how an engagement works. If your question is not here, ask us directly.
General
About Hostcol
What does Hostcol do?
Hostcol Ltd is a UK real estate company that works for private and institutional property owners across the whole life of an asset: acquisition, disposal and transaction support; property and portfolio management; asset strategy and income optimisation; and independent advisory.
Who does Hostcol work for?
Private owners and families, institutional owners such as funds, trusts and corporate holders, and owners at a turning point: buying, selling, restructuring or taking over a property managed by someone else.
Where does Hostcol operate?
Hostcol works with owners in London and across the United Kingdom. It is registered in England and Wales, with its registered office at 128 City Road, London EC1V 2NX.
What makes Hostcol different from an estate agent or managing agent?
An agent is usually paid when a deal completes and a managing agent to keep things running. Hostcol holds the whole picture for the owner: the people who appraise a property are the people who go on to run it, so there is one relationship instead of several.
How much does Hostcol charge?
Fees depend on the service and the size of the property or portfolio, and are always agreed in writing before work starts. Any commission or referral payment reaching Hostcol from a third party is disclosed and credited against your fee.
Is the first conversation free?
Yes. The first conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing. If Hostcol is not the right fit, we will say so and, where we can, point you somewhere better.
Can I use just one service?
Yes. The four services are designed to work together, but they are offered separately and most owners start with one.
Who owns Hostcol?
Hostcol Ltd is the real estate company of the Grant & Graham group, whose parent entity is Grant & Graham Holding OÜ. It is led by its founder and chief executive, Andrew Collins.
Who is Andrew Collins?
Andrew Collins is the founder and chief executive of Hostcol and founder and CEO of the Grant & Graham group. He has more than thirty years of C-suite experience, including scaling Service Industries Ltd from $15M to $220M ahead of its acquisition by NCR.
Does Hostcol give financial, tax or legal advice?
No. Hostcol is not a regulated financial adviser, tax adviser or law firm. Where a mandate needs that expertise, Hostcol will tell you and work alongside the specialists you appoint.
How do I get in touch?
Email hello@hostcol.eu or use the enquiry form on the contact page. It helps to include the type and location of the property, rough scale, who else is involved and any deadline.
Entry & exit
Acquisition, disposal and transaction support
What does acquisition support from Hostcol include?
It covers the whole buy side: agreeing the brief, sourcing on and off market, appraising and pricing the asset, reviewing condition and risk before an offer, negotiating, and then co-ordinating surveyors, solicitors, lenders and agents through to completion.
Do you act for buyers or sellers?
Either, but never both in the same transaction. We act only for the owner or buyer who instructed us, and any interest we hold elsewhere in a deal is disclosed before you make a decision.
Are you an estate agent?
No. We do not list property for sale in the way a high street agent does. We act as the owner's side of the table, and where marketing through agents is the right route we appoint and manage them on your behalf.
Can you manage the property after the purchase?
Yes. The same team can take the asset into day-to-day management, so the assumptions made at purchase are tested against how the building actually performs.
How are you paid on a transaction?
The fee is agreed with you in writing before work starts. Any commission or referral payment reaching us from a third party is disclosed and credited against what you pay.
In use
Property and portfolio management
What does a property manager do for an owner?
A property manager runs the asset day to day: finding and vetting tenants, managing tenancies and deposits, collecting rent and chasing arrears, organising repairs and planned maintenance, keeping the property compliant with safety rules, and reporting to the owner.
Do you manage single properties or only portfolios?
Both. We manage single buildings and larger portfolios, as long as we can run them to the standard we have promised. If a mandate would stretch us beyond that, we say so.
How do you report to owners?
Reporting is agreed with you at the start and built around the decisions you need to make: income and arrears, spending against budget, compliance status, and anything that needs your attention.
Can you take over from our current managing agent?
Yes. We start with an honest assessment of the property, its tenancies, its compliance and its records, then plan a handover that keeps rent and service uninterrupted.
What areas do you cover?
We work with owners in London and across the United Kingdom. Tell us where your property is and we will tell you plainly whether we can run it well.
Performance
Asset strategy and income optimisation
What is asset management in property?
Asset management is the strategic side of ownership: deciding what each property should achieve, measuring whether it does, and directing rent, spending and capital decisions to improve income and value over time. Property management is the day-to-day running that carries that plan out.
How do I know if my property is underperforming?
Common signs include rents below comparable properties, long or repeated vacancies, rising costs that have not been retendered, deferred repairs, and no written plan for the asset. Our guide on spotting an underperforming property walks through each one.
Will you tell me to sell?
Only if that is the right answer. Sometimes the best advice is to improve the asset, sometimes to hold it as it is, and sometimes to sell. We give the answer the numbers support, including when it costs us a mandate.
Can you carry out the plan as well as write it?
Yes. Because Hostcol also manages property and supports transactions, we can deliver the plan, or work alongside your existing managing agent if you prefer.
Oversight
Advisory for private and institutional owners
What is an independent property advisor?
An independent property advisor gives owners objective advice on their property decisions without a stake in the outcome, for example reviewing a proposed purchase, a refurbishment plan or a managing agent's performance.
Do you only advise if we also hire you as managing agent?
No. We take advisory mandates on their own, and we do not expect management work to follow.
Can you review our current managing agent?
Yes. We assess performance against the management agreement and good practice, covering income, arrears, compliance, maintenance and reporting, and set out what should change.
Is this financial, tax or legal advice?
No. Hostcol is not a regulated financial adviser, tax adviser or law firm. Where a decision needs that expertise we will say so and work alongside the specialists you appoint.
Next step
Tell us what you own, and what is bothering you about it.
The first conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing. If we are not the right people, we will say so and point you somewhere better.