A lettings tech platform launched in 2019 by a London estate agent has bagged one of its first significant corporate clients, LRG.
Leaders Romans Group (LRG) has signed a three-year partnership deal with The Depository, which helps agents end tenancies faster and more efficiently including speedier deposit returns, less work for agency staff and a better service for landlords.
The Depository was founded by Kristjan Byfield who also runs Shoreditch estate agency Base Property Specialists, and the platform is integrated with both Propco and InventoryHive, ensuring that LRG gets a “seamless, best-in-class tenancy conclusion eco-system that will save the organisation potentially tens of thousands of hours a year,” says Byfield.
Genuine issue
Michael Cook (pictured), Group MD at LRG, which manages 70,000 tenancies on behalf of its landlords, says: “I liked The Depositary as soon as I saw it, recognising that Kristjan had built a product to solve a genuine issue letting agents encounter, rather than a perceived one.
“The end-of-tenancy deposit return process can sometimes be fractious between the tenant and the landlord, with a natural conflict of interest, so anything that can help make the process more transparent is a welcome addition.
“Since trialling The Depositary we noted turnaround times to release deposits becoming quicker and dispute levels reducing.”
Byfield adds: “We started talking to LRG before we officially launched and it was clear, even at that early stage, that LRG was fully engaged with what we are trying to achieve and wanted to be part of that journey.
“LRG went even further, engaging us to develop a unique solution for their in-house NDO (No Deposit Option) product offering, ensuring that we could deliver benefits across a broad cross-section.
