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The Customer Experience A Priority For Housebuilding Group

Posted 19 March 2021 by Lizzie Leigh

Steve Bangs of Lifestory talks about the focus on homebuyers across its Pegasus, Renaissance and Anthology brands...

We hear from Steve Bangs, MD London & South East, Lifestory, about transforming the customer experience when buying a new home, and how he hopes to bring a more intergenerational approach to housing development in the UK

Lifestory was created through the merger of three property development companies, can you explain how it came about?

Lifestory was created in October 2019, following a merger of open market developer, Anthology and later-living specialists, Pegasus and Renaissance. This brought together three strong customer-facing brands to transform customer experience when buying a new home at whatever stage of life.

We are focused on providing exemplary customer service and beautiful homes in beautiful locations. It doesn’t matter the age of the audience; we are able to meet their needs through our holistic approach to the market. Traditionally, open-market and retirement housing are two distinct offers with very diverse approaches to market. With Lifestory, we are focused on providing great places to live and are excited about how our offer will allow a more intergenerational approach to development across the UK.

Renaissance Bourne EndRenaissance Bourne End

Bringing together three brands presumably means bringing together a wealth of industry experience, do you think this is one of the main strengths of Lifestory?

Within our business we have a huge wealth of experienced team members across all parts of the market. This combined knowledge is definitely one of our biggest assets.

Each region and brand has a blended approach, but remains consistently focused on providing the best service and quality homes for our customers, regardless of audience demographic.

Not only have we some of the most experienced team members in the industry, we are also passionate about supporting and encouraging the next generation and have an active graduate training scheme which is able to harness great talent and allow it to flourish in an open, entrepreneurial culture.

Have you managed to create something distinctive about the Lifestory brand that sets it apart as a new venture?

Lifestory is the first UK housebuilder to cater through the full spectrum of property development, creating starter through to retirement homes.

We also have a unique approach where despite all being part of the Lifestory Group, each region is able to flex its use of the three brands to suit regional market demands and customer needs across England.

Lifestory builds homes for every stage of life, from first-time buyers through to downsizing retirees; how do you cater for so many different requirements?

Ultimately customer needs remain consistent regardless of age and stage of life. People want to live in a quality home in a lovely location with access to a range of amenities, to be treated with respect and afforded the highest standard of customer service.

Our three regional divisions in parallel to the three-brand portfolio allow us flexibility in what type of homes we create based on regional market demands and demographic requirements.

We anticipate that in time we will see Lifestory communities being built where we are creating Anthology homes alongside Pegasus or Renaissance homes; this is a truly exciting prospect for not only the customer, but also local authority planners as they look for greater flexibility to meet housing needs.

Pegasus HolmwoodPegasus Holmwood

You pride yourself on focusing on the customer experience, how do your buyers benefit from that approach?

Providing excellent customer experience is at the core of our ethos. From initial enquiry and reservation to beyond their move into their new homes we pride ourselves on offering first class customer service. This is fundamental to the way we work: customers first.

We listen and act, an example of this is across our later-living portfolio. Feedback from customers looking at our Pegasus and Renaissance communities reflected the need for a more dynamic approach to living in one of our homes. We listened and introduced a selection of long-term and short-term rental offers alongside our outright sales options. It isn’t just about the sales experience though, we also have a Lifehost at each of our later living communities, this person ensures our customers are supported and are part of the fabric of the communities that exist around our buildings. Under the Anthology brand, we offer Help to Buy across our homes and also offer concierge services to support our customers to live a stress-free life in their new homes.

You run the London and South East division; how has the capital been performing during the pandemic?

The capital has an undeniable appeal which I believe will never fade. Despite all that has happened over the past year, we have seen a healthy number of sales across our London Anthology communities of Deptford Foundry, Hoxton Press, Wembley Parade and Hale Works. All of these homes are located within Zone 2-3 and offer green space, great amenities and convenience on the doorstep, which have been the main drivers for the demand which we have seen across the boroughs. The use of Help to Buy has been a key sales enabler for us too.

In our later living portfolio in London and the South East we continue to see good levels of interest and sales. The pandemic has shone a light on the benefits of being part of an independent later living community. People want to know they are surrounded by like minded neighbours and enjoy the security and peace of mind provided, along with a variety of facilities within the safety of their home environment.

What are the main schemes you are focusing on in your region at the moment?

Our latest Anthology project is Stratford Mill, a community consisting of 75 one-, two- and three-bedroom canalside apartments in Stratford which has just launched and is already proving incredibly popular, with a fully-booked four-day launch.

In the Spring, we are excited to also be launching a Pegasus community in Cobham, Surrey which will consist of 55 apartments.

What are retired downsizers looking for when purchasing a home in London?

Location and options are the main drivers for those looking to downsize with Lifestory in London and the South East; we also have buyers locating outside of those areas too, as people choose to move closer to family. Our schemes offer the benefits that a later-living community offers, including the safety of belonging within a community, having the security of a Lifehost and establishing social connections with like-minded neighbours, all while continuing to enjoy an independent lifestyle.

Anthology Stratford MillAnthology Stratford Mill

Do you offer any incentives to your first-time buyers?

We offer Help to Buy across our Anthology communities to allow more first-time buyers to achieve their dreams of getting on the property ladder. We are delighted to see the introduction of 5% mortgages and the stamp duty extension, which will provide first-time buyers with more opportunities to be able to finally step onto the property ladder this year.

And finally, what's next for Lifestory in 2021?

Lifestory has some very exciting growth plans, we are looking to build 5,000 new homes across England in the next five years across the brand portfolio.

Whilst the Anthology brand was born in London and we continue to remain committed to opportunities in the Capital, we are also looking to extend the beyond Zones 2-3 to offer more open market homes across London, the South East and the rest of England.

To fulfil these ambitions, we are looking for medium-scale, mid-market opportunities of 100 homes or more, including sites with or without planning permission in urban locations across England. We are exploring opportunities that are rich with demand for homes, complex in nature and perhaps buried in the heart of communities that are undergoing or about to embark upon the wider regeneration required in our towns and cities across the UK.

 

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