One of the top property management businesses in Christchurch has joined forces with Harcourts Grenadier, the largest Harcourts real estate franchise in Australasia.

Harcourts Accommodation Centre, founded 19 years ago by mother and son Patricia and Nigel Bowden, will continue to manage property across the city from its home base at the corner of Bealey Ave and Papanui Rd.

"For our existing clients, it will be business as usual - what will make the difference is our ability to grow, and with that comes the resources to be able to provide an even better service in the future," said Nigel Bowden, Franchise Owner/Business Manager of the Harcourts Accommodation Centre.

"After years of an informal partnership with Harcourts Grenadier, we all decided that the time was right to join forces in an integrated way. "Good business is about having good instincts, and this is the right time to be taking this step."

The agreement, by which Grenadier takes a shareholding in the Accommodation Centre, formalised a very long-standing partnership, and was a very exciting move, said Peter Greene, Managing Director of Harcourts Grenadier.

"Although we've never before engaged in residential property management ourselves, for years we have had a very close relationship with the Accommodation Centre, dealing with each other's clients.

"This new development means Harcourts Grenadier will be able to provide a fully integrated residential real estate service. We're going to be able to provide people with a professional one-stop-shop - something we have been very keen to achieve for some time."

More than 1000 rental properties are currently taken care of by the Accommodation Centre, which has one of the largest rent rolls in Christchurch. The new business partnership is expected to see that figure expand at a much quicker rate than could be achieved under the previous regime.

"Property management businesses in Christchurch haven't been able to match the scale of some successful operations in places like Auckland, Hamilton and Wellington," said Mr Bowden.

"We will now have the additional expertise and the capacity to grow. Grenadier is the top performing Harcourts franchise in New Zealand, and we have been the top property management franchise every year for the last decade, so bringing the two together just makes sense."