Our story
In 2014 whilst working at Knight Frank, I conducted a comprehensive assessment with the Estates Gazette to discover if any truly affordable solutions existed for London’s young workers today. Labelling the project ‘Lowe Cost Living’, it involved me searching for (and ultimately living in) properties under £500 a month in central London. My search created such interest that it was picked up by The Evening Standard, The Financial Times and BBC .
One of my strongest memories of the investigation was living as a property guardian. I shared one shower in a neglected disused office with twenty others, I experienced having heating on 24/7 at the height of summer, as well as rat infestations in the bathroom. These experiences were not a one off; the guardian industry has caused quite a stir in the press for providing substandard conditions for their inhabitants, with very little effort made to rejuvenate the buildings they are supposedly guarding.
I realised then that the guardian industry needed to be radically improved; on the one hand, property owners needed to receive a service they could trust and on the other, guardians deserved to live in better conditions.
Consequently, LOWE Guardians was born.
Tim Lowe
Founder & Director