SPS spends big on IT

PROPERTY CENTRES: plans for 'single, holistic system'

Edinburgh Solicitors Property Centre (ESPC) is investing around 500,000 in IT systems over the next 18 months as it steps up its property-selling operation in Scotland and England.

The whole of the existing system - which includes the Solicitors Property Shop (SPS) operation in the north-east of England - will be upgraded into a 'single, holisticsystem', according to head of operations Hector Grant.

'At the moment we have a number of different databases that deal with all aspects of the business,' Mr Grant explained.

'We will be consolidating them into one central database containing, among other things, property details, company accounts and financial services.'

ESPC will also be updating its Internet service, which currently supports more than 8,000 daily visits to the ESPC and SPS Web sites (www.espc.co.uk and www.sps.net).

The Internet connection will be widened, and a more powerful server introduced to support the operation.

In addition, potential purchasers will be able to track the progress of all financial transactions, such as mortgages, on-line.

The investment supports the company's conviction that the future of property marketing lies with the Internet.

Mr Grant said: 'We rely on IT a great deal at the moment, and we are making this investment to further enhance and modernise our current system.

We are totally convinced that the Internet is going to be the primary marketing and communications medium for residential property sales.'

Victoria MacCallum