Colchester-based property company PMS Leashold Management has split into two separate businesses.

The property management side of the firm will now operate as PMS Managing Estates, with PMS Leasehold Management continuing as the landlord of a medium-sized portfolio of flats.

The move come after PMS successfully qualified to join regulatory body the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA) “ARMA-Q” quality standard.

Separating the two parts of the business means the firm complies with the standards of the professional regulatory bodies it has signed up to, and offer better protection to clients.

The newly created division will be responsible for managing around 6,000 homes across the whole of the Anglia region and into London and the South East.

PMS, based on the Severalls Business Park, was established by its chairman, Terry Sutton, 29 years ago.

He said: “By splitting the company we aim to provide a more focused property management service to our clients. The effect will see improvement to all aspects of the services we provide and will allow us to streamline the processes we employ to assist new clients at the all-important stage of obtaining new business.”