Company Timeline
SKE Ltd was formally set up in 1997 as a traditional estate office to run a mixed portfolio in and around South Kensington. The company began with a handful of staff while property management, refurbishment, investment and accounting were all outsourced to professional services firms. SKE (or Free-Time Business Services as it was then known) branched out into serviced offices for a while, in a bid to make some of the smaller offices in South Kensington more lettable. With the company’s offices located in the same building as many of the company’s clients, SKE experienced the same building and property management issues as their clients. This period was an important time for SKE to learn about customer relations.
2001-2002
During 2001/2 a strategic decision was taken to bring the management of the London portfolio in-house. The team increased to 12 people and a property management IT system called Horizon was installed. In April 2003, SKE was up and running as a property management company.
2003
2003 continued to be a very busy and significant year. SKE added to it's Brompton Road holdings with purchase of the Brompton Estate, a mixed portfolio stretching from 197-251 Brompton Road, comprising shops, offices and flats.
2003-2007
SKE have been working hard to improve the quality of the portfolio, investing significantly in buildings, community and infrastructure. You can see examples of this work on the projects page of this website and on Brompton & South Kensington websites. Most visible examples of the transformation underway are the extensive refurbishments of 223-225 Brompton Road in 2005 [Brompton Quarter Cafe] 245-249 Brompton Road [Skandium], the redecoration of the Thurloe Street offices, works carried out to 20 Egerton Gardens Mews in collaboration with the Danish Embassy. Less prominent but equally important are the improvements to the infrastructure of the buildings including modernisation of common parts.
2007 and onwards
SKE moved from less than glamorous basement offices on Thurloe Street, to newly refurbished, light and spacious offices in Alfred House, on the corner of Cromwell Place. SKE now has a fine team of 25, providing a professional a comprehensive property management service. The company is a member of the Commercial Landlords Accreditation Scheme (CLAS), and registered with the Financial Services Authority.