Property And Lettings Manager

• Hobbs Estates Limited is looking for a
• Property & Lettings Manager to join our family-run commercial property business, based at
• Earls Colne Business Park, Earls Colne, Colchester, Essex

Hobbs Estates is a long-established commercial landlord, property developer and property investment company founded in 1958.

We own and manage Earls Colne Business Park, a multi-let commercial estate with over 40 tenants, alongside other property interests in Essex and Suffolk.

This is a varied, hands-on role suited to someone who is organised, confident with people, commercially aware and keen to become a central part of a long-established local property business.

The successful candidate will act as a key day-to-day point of contact for tenants, agents, solicitors, contractors and our internal accounts team.

They will help ensure tenants are well looked after, vacant space is proactively marketed, lease renewals and new lettings are progressed efficiently, and the portfolio is managed in a practical, professional and commercially sensible way.

Key responsibilities

• Tenant management and estate communication
• Act as a primary point of contact for routine tenant requests, concerns and estate queries.
• Acknowledge, record, prioritise and follow up tenant issues, including repairs, leaks, access, parking, signage, utilities and common‑area matters.
• Maintain a professional, friendly and firm tone that reflects a family‑run landlord: responsive and helpful, but clear on lease obligations and boundaries.
• Liaise with the maintenance team to ensure tenant and property issues are communicated clearly, progressed efficiently and resolved to an appropriate standard.
• Escalate material disputes, high‑cost items, health and safety concerns, legal threats or sensitive tenant issues promptly to the Directors.
• Help foster and promote a positive, professional and collaborative company culture.
• Lettings, marketing and agents
• Help prepare vacant units for marketing, including floor areas, particulars, photographs, plans, EPCs and key selling points.
• Liaise with local and regional commercial agents on a multi‑agency basis.
• Coordinate viewings and follow up with agents and prospective tenants.
• Maintain a live availability schedule, enquiry tracker and prospect pipeline.
• Track and manage enquiries from prospective tenants, maintaining clear records of first contact and enquiry source so that direct relationships can be developed and agency fees avoided where appropriate.
• Assist in negotiating heads of terms in line with Director‑approved parameters.
• Use the company Linked In page and personal profile, where appropriate, to help advertise new lettings.
• Lease renewals, new leases and legal process
• Track key lease events, including expiries, break dates, rent reviews and renewal windows.
• Prepare draft heads of terms for Director review and issue agreed heads of terms once approved.
• Liaise with tenants, agents and solicitors to progress lease renewals and new lettings through to completion.
• Check that leases, licences, side letters and ancillary documents reflect agreed commercial terms before escalating to Directors for approval/signature.
• Coordinate supporting information for solicitors, including plans, company details, repair obligations, rent deposit requirements, guarantor details and conditions precedent.
• Maintain accurate, well‑organised electronic records for all tenant, property, lease, maintenance and lettings matters.
• Accounts, invoicing and service charges
• Work closely with the accounts team to ensure rents, service charges, utilities, insurance and other sums are correctly invoiced.
• Support the preparation and communication of service charge budgets, demands and reconciliations.
• Investigate tenant invoice queries and agree responses with accounts and/or Directors where needed.
• Assist with arrears follow‑up and tenant communication, escalating payment disputes where appropriate.
• Clearly communicate any agreed concessions, rent‑free periods, stepped rents, deposits and tenant‑specific arrangements to the accounts department.
• Work alongside the accounts team and utilise Yardi Voyager property management software to support accurate tenant records, invoicing and service charge administration.
• Property operations and compliance support
• Coordinate minor maintenance requests with approved contractors and internal maintenance staff.
• Obtain quotes, raise instructions within delegated authority and follow up completion of works.
• Keep records of inspections, contractor visits, issue resolution and tenant communications.
• Support statutory and good‑practice compliance processes, including fire safety, asbestos, electrical safety, EPCs, insurance requirements and health and safety documentation, under Director or external consultant guidance.
• Assist with dilapidations, licences for alterations, signage requests and tenant fit‑out queries by gathering information and coordinating professional input.
• Support the Directors in ensuring compliance with relevant legal, health and safety, fire safety, environmental and property‑related obligations.
• Systems, organisation and improvement
• Maintain accurate and well‑organised electronic records so that Directors have clear access to up‑to‑date information and the company retains a reliable long‑term record for future management and decision‑making.
• Seek out practical ways to improve company processes and efficiency.
• Be adaptable in adopting new technologies, software and systems that support better property management and administration.
• Use Microsoft Copilot and other approved software tools to improve efficiency, organisation and day‑to‑day working practices.

Skills and experience

The right person may come from commercial property management, commercial agency, estate agency, lettings, facilities management, block management, surveying support or a similar client‑facing property role.

Commercial property experience would be advantageous, but judgement, communication skills, reliability, organisation and common sense are essential.

We are looking for someone with

• Experience in commercial property management, commercial agency, estate agency, facilities management, block management or a comparable landlord‑tenant‑facing role.
• Strong communication skills by phone, email and in person.
• The ability to be warm, professional and helpful, while also being clear and firm when needed.
• Strong organisation and administrative skills, with the ability to maintain trackers, diaries and follow‑up systems.
• Commercial awareness and a willingness to learn lease structures, heads of terms, rent reviews, service charges and landlord‑tenant obligations.
• A basic understanding of repairs, contractors, building issues and practical property operations.
• Good Microsoft Office skills, especially Outlook, Word and Excel.
• The ability to work in a small family business where reliability, judgement, discretion and common sense matter as much as formal qualifications.

Desirable but not essential

• Commercial property or business park experience.
• RICS, IRPM, ARLA Propertymark or similar property training/qualification.
• Experience with service charges, lease renewals, heads of terms or commercial property solicitors.
• Knowledge of health and safety, fire safety, asbestos management, EPCs and contractor management.
• Experience with CRM or property management software.

Person specification

The successful candidate is likely to be

• Practical, calm and solutions‑focused.
• Personable and relationship‑led, but not a pushover.
• Commercially minded and comfortable protecting landlord interests.
• Highly organised, diligent and good at following things through.
• Happy to be visible on site and build rapport with tenants.
• Discreet and trustworthy when dealing with confidential tenant, financial and company information.
• Comfortable working in a small team with variety, changing priorities and hands‑on work.
• Interested in improving systems, processes and the way the business operates.
• Working arrangements

The role is primarily office‑based at Earls Colne Business Park, given the tenant‑facing and site‑based nature of the position.

Occasional working from home may be possible by agreement where business needs allow.

Full‑time or part‑time may be considered for the right candidate.

A full clean UK driving licence is required.

We are offering a competitive salary, dependent on experience, together with a discretionary bonus based on individual and company performance.

How to apply

Please send your CV to

Alternatively, please feel free to message us for an informal conversation about the role.

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