Liz's business nurtured by positive atmosphere at Centenary Business Centre

A lettings agency based at the Centenary Business Centre in Nuneaton has come a long way in a short time thanks to a lot of expertise and hard graft - and the "brilliant" assistance of staff at the centre.

The expertise and graft has come from Liz Taylor, director of Liz Taylor Lettings.

Liz was recently short-listed in the Property Services section of the FirstPro 2016 Coventry and Warwickshire Professional of the Year Awards at the Ricoh Arena.

The nomination continued the strong progress of a business which has blossomed since early 2014 when Liz, having worked for a letting agency in the area for seven years, decided to get fully qualified, take the plunge and go it alone.

Even when you have the confidence of knowing the business and the area inside-out, that's a big decision to take.

So for Liz, the turn she happened to take one day while driving round Nuneaton, into Hammond Close and the Centenary Business Centre, turned out to be a most productive one.

"I was fairly confident that I could build a good business, but you do still go in at the deep end," said Liz. "Especially at the start you need all the support you can get so finding the business centre was a real lucky break for me.

"With only a small amount of money in the bank any long-term lease would have wiped me out so the sort of short-term deal they offer here really took the pressure off.

"The facilities are perfect. I have already moved into a bigger unit within the centre which allows me to meet clients in space and comfort. The free parking is also a real asset.

"And the reception staff are brilliant. They take in paperwork and keys for me when I'm not in the office and are always great to deal with and make the centre a pleasant place for people to visit which is so important."

That welcoming approach suits Liz's business philosophy in a sector which sometimes receives bad press for its customer-facing approach.

"I pride myself on very high standards of customer care," she said. "For example, I carry out viewings from 8am through to 7.30pm on weekdays and also on Saturdays because a lot of prospective tenants work from 9am to 5pm. Some agencies insist on viewings between 9 and 5 to suit their own office-hours. I don't think that's good enough.

"I do advertise in a small way but the majority of my customers come from personal recommendations from other landlords and tenants."