Our History

As Managing Agents in Essex we are proud of our heritage. The founder of PMS Managing Estates was Terry Sutton, whose first taste of the property management business was as a homeowner in Colchester, Essex in the mid Eighties.

After buying a three-bed family home there on a private estate whilst a serving soldier, he realised that the purchase meant, as a property owner, he was part of a residential management company, too.

He quickly got to grips with the property law and helped other residents achieve efficient management of the estate of 72 houses and 48 flats.

An early success in property management

That included successfully negotiating a £500,000 payment to the residents’ management company from the estate’s developer after agreeing to an access route through their estate to another development.

The developer had originally offered £6,000.

By the time he left the Army, Terry had acquired enough knowledge of property management to set up a partnership, and the limited company PMS Leasehold Management followed in 1987.

“Having had the experience of being a resident who has received services that were below par, I wanted to turn that around and ensure I offered a good service.

I also wanted to ensure the business gained professional status,” he said.

“Customers always deserve a good service and we expect to give them that.”

Today, PMS is a member of The Property Insutute, a 2024 merger of the Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA) and the Institute of Residential Property Managers (the IPRM).

As the Chairman of PMS, Terry was a strong advocate of regulation of the industry as currently anyone can set up in business without formal sector-specific qualifications.

Sadly, Terry passed away in January 2021.  He will be fondly remembered by all who worked alongside him.

PMS are now proud to be part of the Trinity Property Group