Lynx Management Group covers the renting, buying, selling, building, managing and maintaining of property. The company stands tall as one of the pioneers in the Phuket property scene; often imitated, rarely outdone. Eric – who claims to be retired – works 16 hours a day, every day, but he took time out of his busy schedule to talk business with Window.

How did you come to be in Phuket?
For 35 years I flew airplanes for a living. Twenty years of that was in Hong Kong, during which time I formed several companies: trading, manufacturing and property-related businesses. Then I retired from the airline business and moved myself and my family to Phuket; that was about 13 years ago.

What is the history of Lynx Management Group?
I started this business about 12 years ago. We were the first company here providing both management services for estates and management and maintenance services for individual villas. Back then, there were only about a dozen or so foreign-owned villas on the island. I started by managing the estate where I live, near Cape Panwa, and also looking after some of the properties on that estate for the owners, who were essentially absentee owners. That developed into serviced-villa rentals, which we were the first to do in Phuket.

What started as a small business, really more of a hobby, has today worked through to where we’ve got some 40 employees and several management contracts, mostly individual service contracts for private owners, where there's high demand for quality services at the luxury end of the market.

What type of services does Lynx Management offer?
The value of the property doesn’t matter; if the owner is absent form Phuket, he or she needs somebody to look after his home.

We provide a range of service options: full-service, or broken down into house keeping, home maintenance, swimming pool maintenance, garden maintenance, and so on. With the services we offer, an owner can take a comprehensive package or select a number of options. Essentially, we act as owners would act if they were able to look after their own properties. If a light bulb needs changing, we change it; if the roof leaks, we fix the roof. We maintain the property in good working order.

How much demand is there for these services?
In Phuket, the climate is quite harsh. Most of the high-end luxury properties are located in coastal areas, which means that if a property is left empty, it can deteriorate rapidly. There are a number of companies offering this type of service, but we're different to most of the others in that we employ our own staff for the services; other companies tend to subcontract the work. As a result, we can offer better value for money and we have direct control over the quality of service that we are providing. What's more, we're able to respond more quickly to any situations that need attention.

How have factors such as Thailand’s unstable political climate affected your business?
Certain sectors of the property market have been having difficulties. Politics affects our business because it affects the perception people have of Thailand. These are the people who would be our customers, investing and buying property here. In the last 10 years, the property business and foreign investment on the island have been very good to the local people. I’ve seen the living standards of the locals here rise phenomenally over the last 10 years. The rapid expansion of property development is not restricted to luxury villas for foreigners. The rate of development in the local market is vast, and foreign investment has put the money in the locals’ pockets to make this expansion possible.

Foreign investment has made things affordable for people on the island. It is hoped that the recently elected government will see its way to encouraging foreign investment by simplifying foreign property ownership regulations to restore investor confidence. This will go a long way towards ensuring the continued prosperity of Phuket and its people.

For further information about Lynx Management Group
www.phuket-villas.com

30/12 Thepkasattri Road‚ Tambon Koh Kaew‚
Muang District‚ Phuket 83000‚ Thailand
Tel: +66 (0) 76 239 944, +66 (0) 76 239 984