The acquisition of 55 Millbrook Road East, a substantial commercial building located close to the heart of the Southampton City Centre, represented a significant milestone for investment developers, Mark and Neil Moores, bringing their portfolio up to 100 properties.

This has been achieved initially against a falling property market but more recently in a rising market with stiffening competition.

"It is interesting when I look back over the years how the market has changed and how people's perception of property as a long-term investment has also altered" said Mr Moores.

"Initially we were one of the few people buying to rent out, certainly residentially, although in more recent years it was hard to find a professional person who either does not own or has not considered owning a property for investment purposes. The good news is that this has kept us on our toes and ensured we have maintained high standards throughout our portfolio.

"In addition, we are constantly striving to look at ways we can further improve both our residential and commercial portfolio to the benefit of not only ourselves but also our tenants and that of the surrounding buildings. It would also appear that other landlords are adopting a similar strategy which just goes to show competition is generally a good thing. However, there are still poor landlords out there and the sooner these landlords are driven out of the marketplace, the better so that we can ensure all homes and businesses alike enjoy good standards of accommodation to live or work from."

Mark and Neil have used Mark's own company, Clydesdale Estates, to acquire the portfolio and have subsequently used Neil's two firms, St Moores Residential Letting & Property Management and London & Perth Letting Agents, to manage the bulk of the portfolio. Finally, their own combined building and maintenance team, Clydesdale Maintenance, has carried out all the works and subsequently maintain the buildings.