Residential property consultancy Ringley has launched a new operational management platform for property owners to monetise services and spaces within their buildings.

Named Busy Living, the software can be branded as the operator sees fit while also offering a customer-facing app alongside the digital backend. It is also sector-agnostic, used for any type of real estate asset where an investor needs to monetise space – from hotels and student accommodation to co-working and build-to-rent. Busy Living combines a plug-and-play cashless payment platform with biometric security features used by the Ministry of Defence.

Security features include facial recognition and fingerprint scanning, allowing operators to grant access and manage spaces without 24-hour staffing. The cashless payment system will also help boost transparency over revenue flow and instant payments will reduce debt risk for both operators and tenants. Most importantly, Ringley says the customer-facing interface will make booking and paying for spaces or services ‘extremely straightforward’, which will enhance tenant loyalty and drive cashflow by enabling building amenities to be better marketed, with the ability for last-minute promotions.

The technology is currently being tested on one of Ringley’s own assets – the 10,000 sq ft coworking space, Camden Gateway. By doing so, the firm aims to demonstrate its technology is viable and can cut costs for Build to Rent (BTR) investors and operators looking to include co-working as part of their amenity offer. Managing tens of thousands of homes across the country, Ringley has invested over £2 million in creating a suite of technological products that look to ‘simplify, automate and de-risk’ the lettings and operations of residential buildings. The consultancy has advised a number of major BTR players in the UK market, drawing from its 20-plus year of experience in residential management and operations.

Mary-Anne Bowring, group managing director of Ringley, comments: “Our new platform aims to improve transparency, reduce cost, drive revenue and above all de-risk operations.” “The next-generation of buildings will merge multiple uses under one roof and what we are looking to do through our latest tech offering is to help better commercialise ‘live-work-play’ developments.” “There has been a shift towards operationalised real estate and the boundaries between different asset classes are blurring. Both residential and commercial property look to the hospitality and leisure industries for inspiration and learning, which is why our new tech is adaptable and sector-agnostic.”

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