It will offer the property, residential estate agency, conveyancing and Home Information Pack (HIP) industry access to a large group of Home Inspectors and Energy Inspectors in England & Wales.
The joint venture company, to be called the SAVA Business Exchange, will be 50 per cent owned by SAVA and 50 per cent owned by Simply HIP, part of the Simply Conveyancing group. The venture is intended to fill the gap left in the market by the recent withdrawal of companies such as Rightmove from the industry.
The partnership will seek to simplify and consolidate the market place. SAVA, which is owned by National Energy Services, has over 1,500 candidates training to become Home Inspectors. These Inspectors will be required for the delivery of the mandatory Energy Performance Certificate and the voluntary Home Condition Report. Simply HIP provides HIP software that enables estate agents and their customers to track their various HIP components via an automated system. Over £2 million has gone into the development of Simply HIP's systems to date. From the searches and other legal documentation to the Energy Performance Certificate and Home Condition Report, Simply HIP's software can update the required elements via a reporting system which is available both online and via mobile technology.
SAVA Business Exchange will service the entire industry and will also be open to every HIP provider.
Ashley King, managing director of Simply HIP, said: "The HIP industry is still evolving and new developments have to be addressed. The withdrawal of Rightmove has left a vacuum in the market and we now expect to generate even more work for Home Inspectors through the SAVA Business Exchange. This alliance will create, arguably, the single most comprehensive vehicle for the provision of Energy Performance Certificates, Home Condition Reports, and the professionals required to produce them. It is a very exciting and rapidly shifting time in the property industry and only those companies that innovate and adapt are likely to succeed."
Brian Scannell, managing director of SAVA, said: "I believe this new joint venture with Simply HIP is excellent news for both the industry and Home Inspectors. It will enable a more integrated approach in the provision of HIPs. Importantly it will restore confidence to Home Inspectors and those intending to qualify as it creates a huge referral base. We predict that over 400,000 Energy Performance Certificates and Home Condition Reports a year will be processed through the company, making it the single largest provider in England and Wales."
Adrian Dunne, an independent Home Inspector from Hertfordshire who expects to qualify in September, said: "It is good to know that there will be a company that we can become part of that will refer so much business our way. It takes much of the marketing headache off our shoulders and will free us up to do what we have been trained for."
