A double win for The Freehold Collective at the 2023 ERMAs
The Freehold Collective, a partnership dedicated to helping leaseholders acquire the Freehold of their building, has been awarded, for the second year running, Project Manager of the Year at the 2023 ERMAs, whilst Senior Account Manager John Henderson was Highly Commended in the Professional of the Year category.
The Freehold Collective, founded by Mike Somekh, has been expertly handling a range of different leasehold and freehold challenges over the past decade, and more. From Freehold Acquisitions and Right to Manage claims to complex lease extensions, The Freehold Collective ensures every step in the process is as stress-free and straightforward as possible. Their approach has continually proven to be fruitful, helping over 1,000 leaseholders nationwide regain control over their properties.
The 14th year of the ERMAs led to a double success, with The Freehold Collective defending their title as Project Manager of the Year, a unique industry award, and John Henderson, Senior Account Manager, being Highly Commended in the Professional of the Year category.
Following the 2023 ERMAs, TFC founder Mike Somekh said:
“I am extremely proud and humbled to have won the top award of project manager of the year, twice in a row, and very grateful to the hundreds of leaseholders who have put their faith in us to deliver on their goals. We are ‘Collective’ in every sense of the word and our success is all down to each and every member of The Freehold Collective team.
The Case Behind the Award
Award entries are judged on the complexity of the work, the quality of the outcome, and the evidence that the project required skills and decisions that set the firm apart from its peers. The case TFC submitted for the 2023 ERMA entry illustrates exactly why project management in collective enfranchisement is a distinct specialism, not a by-product of conveyancing.
The building was Lancaster Court, a 34-flat mansion block in Central London opposite Kensington Gardens. The history: a first enfranchisement attempt had been made almost 20 years earlier and had failed due to insufficient leaseholder participation. Over the following two decades, the freeholder undertook lease renewals and structural changes that made a second attempt significantly more complex.
By the time TFC was instructed, the freeholder’s position had hardened considerably. The initial counter-notice came in at £7.9 million, structured with leasebacks designed to retain effective control of the building’s most commercially valuable elements. TFC’s valuation of the freehold was £2 million.
TFC’s work involved four distinct stages: auditing all 34 qualifying leaseholders against current eligibility criteria before a single document was drafted; commissioning a specialist rebuttal of the development value and leaseback structure; entering partial First-tier Tribunal proceedings on a single point of valuation methodology; and holding 90% of the leaseholder group together through a process that ran for nearly three years.
The freehold was secured at £2 million, unencumbered, with no leaseback conditions attached. Ninety per cent of leaseholders participated, exceeding the 50% statutory requirement by a substantial margin.
The award judges cited the complexity of the counter-notice position and the scale of the negotiated reduction from £7.9 million to £2 million as the primary basis for the 2023 win. The Lancaster Court case is documented in full on the TFC website.
What the Judges Said
Following the 2023 ERMAs, TFC founder Mike Somekh said:
“I am extremely proud and humbled to have won the top award of project manager of the year, twice in a row, and very grateful to the hundreds of leaseholders who have put their faith in us to deliver on their goals. We are ‘Collective’ in every sense of the word and our success is all down to each and every member of The Freehold Collective team.”
Why TFC Was Founded
The Freehold Collective was founded on the principle of providing the assistance, wisdom and support that Mike Somekh wished that he had while leading the acquisition on the Freehold of his own building. Due to the highly contested, yet successful acquisition he had experienced, he set out to ensure that other people would achieve success as he did, with a very experienced guide to help them on their way. Mike has since shepherded hundreds of leaseholders in becoming masters of their own destiny.
What the Award Means for Leaseholders
Project Manager of the Year is the only ERMA category that judges the quality of project execution rather than individual professional achievement. Winning it twice in a row means the industry has independently assessed TFC’s work across two consecutive years and judged it the best in class.
For leaseholders considering collective enfranchisement, it is a straightforward signal: TFC’s outcomes and processes have been peer-reviewed and validated. If you want to know what that looks like in practice, the Lancaster Court case above is a representative example. You can read about similar cases on the TFC website, or contact us directly to discuss your building.
About the ERMAs
The ERMAs (Estate and Residential Management Awards) are the principal industry awards for residential property management professionals in the UK. Now in their 14th year, they are judged by an independent panel of industry professionals and are widely regarded as the benchmark standard for excellence in the sector.
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