From 1 – 3,000 homes: How Evolve has built a scalable foundation with MRI Software

Evolve Block & Estate Management is a UK-based managing agent specialising in residential block and estate management. With a growing portfolio of over 3,000 homes, Evolve supports Resident Management Companies (RMCs) and Right to Manage (RTM) boards with financial management, compliance and resident services, combining operational rigour with a strong focus on transparency and customer experience.

By 2021, Evolve Block & Estate Management was managing around 1,000 homes, many of them large, complex sites with intricate schedules, multiple bank accounts and demanding RMC/RTM boards. Their existing system could no longer support the scale or complexity of the portfolio. The reporting functionality and fluidity was limited and year-end processes required excessive manual work. With growth accelerating, Evolve knew they needed a more robust, scalable platform capable of supporting national-level operations.

We needed something we could pull apart and rebuild how we wanted. We required a technology solution that would scale with us, not something we’d outgrow time and time again.

-Benjamin Hume, Managing Director

As client expectations for financial reporting intensified, the need to modernise became business critical.

A connected ecosystem built for scale

Evolve selected MRI Software’s residential property management solution (Qube PM) as the backbone of its operations driven by its powerful accounting engine, configurability and established user base.

MRI’s Qube PM solution gave Evolve the ability to:

• Interrogate and customise reporting to meet client and board-level expectations
• Configure processes to their exact needs
• Standardise year-end, surplus/deficit and reconciliation workflows
• Create a consistent, scalable operating model across the business

As expectations around customer experience grew, Evolve expanded further into MRI’s ecosystem by implementing MRI Engage, giving residents:

• A modern app experience
• Push notifications for payments and updates
• Instant access to documents and information
• A seamless, real-time extension of the core Qube database

Every demographic has a smartphone. Engage puts information in their pocket. It’s no longer a differentiator but more an expectation.

-Benjamin Hume, Managing Director

Evolve also leveraged MRI’s Managed Services offering to stabilise workloads during high-growth periods, gaining dedicated, embedded support that aligned with their internal processes.

Once we had the right workflows in place, it became invaluable. MRI’s Managed Services felt like an extension of our own team.

-Benjamin Hume, Managing Director

Greater scale, stronger performance, better service

With MRI’s solutions operating at its core, Evolve has tripled its portfolio from 1,000 to more than 3,000 homes while maintaining lean operations and improving service delivery.

If Qube was switched off tomorrow, I’d need to double the size of my team

-Benjamin Hume, Managing Director

MRI Qube PM has also helped Evolve rethink recruitment by enabling it to hire for financial expertise rather than system experience, while stronger reporting and greater transparency have helped meet rising expectations from RMC and RTM boards. At the same time, MRI Engage has enhanced the resident experience and directly supported new business wins, including a 200-unit contract where the app proved a decisive differentiator.

Evolve has also renewed with MRI for a further three years, reflecting its confidence in the partnership and the value MRI continues to deliver as the business grows.

As Hume concluded:

The more we grow, the more cost-efficient MRI becomes for us. Renewing for a further three years was a natural next step; this is more than just a technology solution, it’s the foundation that has already supported our growth to 3,000 units and will continue to enable the next stage of expansion.