Ascend Strengthens Proprietary Tech Platform With Recruitment of Andy Griffin as IT Director

Arrival reflects firms’ continued investment in sector-leading capabilities

Ascend – the UK’s leading manager of institutional living assets and largest third-party operator of single-family rental (SFR) homes – has recruited Andy Griffin as IT Director.

Andy’s arrival at Ascend highlights the firm’s ongoing investment in its proprietary technology platform, and further strengthens a team that continues to deliver the sector’s leading portfolio management capabilities. He will also oversee IT across the wider group.

In his new role he will be focused on further developing the proprietary technology that underpins Ascend’s market-leading residential letting and property management activity. Drawing on the data from across Ascend’s management portfolio, the company’s systems already automate and optimise entire business processes including maintenance, resident liaising and onboarding / departure activity such as deposit payment and synchronisation with third party utilities providers and council tax.

Ascend holds management mandates with leading institutional investors and oversees around two thirds of the entire UK SFR asset class, alongside wider living sector instructions. Ascend Living, its unique ‘white label’ resident-facing brand, is one of the largest operators of institutional living assets, providing investors with a turnkey identity for over 4,000 homes across the UK.

Lee Hill, Commercial Director at Ascend, said: 

As we continue to secure major new mandates, with considerable growth in our management portfolio, ensuring that our proprietary technology platform continues to lead the market is a key part of Ascend’s offer. Andy’s capabilities and experience are ideally suited to not only further strengthening our existing tech stack, but also to capitalising on significant innovations in AI to enable our letting and management teams offer an ever better and more efficient service to our clients and partners.