Locale celebrates 15 years in the proptech industry

When Guy Windsor-Lewis founded his business in 2005, his vision was to digitally transform an industry that was typically prone to old fashioned and outdated processes.

Gradually, a digital movement has taken grip, with real estate seeking to implement technology solutions for building management that is smarter, cost effective, and engaging.

In 15 years, Locale has grown to a 30-person strong business, establishing itself as a key component to building operations. Providing tech solutions to the UK’s prestigious property players and iconic landmarks across the UK including Savills, BPRE and The Shard, Locale covers over 60m sq ft of real estate, with 200 buildings trusting Locale to deliver an exceptional experience.

The Locale portal itself has evolved from simple document storage, to being a multi-functional software that facilitates building teams in both operations and occupier engagement. This includes modules such as announcements, visitor management, keys, deliveries, groups, helpdesk and much more that provide instant communication, efficient processes and an enhanced customer experience.

To further inspire and captivate occupiers, Locale Life was created in 2018 to provide unique experience solutions which are tailored to each building’s community, resulting in vibrant places to live and work.

Operating in the city of Oxford, Locale is about to move into a new, larger office space to accommodate the growing team, as well as to support ambitious plans to scale up marketing and video content, create educational virtual events, and push for further growth within proptech.

Guy Windsor-Lewis reflected: “To be celebrating Locale’s 15th birthday is an incredible milestone. When it was first created it was a challenge to promote new and modernised property management and engagement tools in real estate. There were less than a handful of businesses in the market that offered digital solutions, and I have witnessed first-hand the evolution of proptech in the UK.

“Slowly but surely, the approach to technology has improved and attitudes to tech adoption have accelerated the last couple of years – in particular the last three months – which has led to huge excitement and overwhelming growth for the proptech industry.

“Over the past 15 years, I have been delighted to have been able to grow the Locale team, and invest in departments including product development, client services, sales and marketing in order to provide a seamless and robust experience for our clients. I hope to continue our development and growth in the next 15 years, and I look forward to the industry fully embracing what we have to offer.”