Clan Gordon Letting Agents Staff Spotlight – Gregor Thomson, Senior Property Manager
Gregor was promoted from Property Manager to Senior Property Manager as part of a portfolio rejig at Clan Gordon in the summer of 2025.
Originally from Linlithgow, he graduated in Fine Art from the University of Dundee but found it difficult to make a living from selling his work.
So he took a job in hospitality at a chain hotel, a move which brought him to Edinburgh.
Gregor takes up the story: “I found I had a really good knack for communicating, working in a team and also working with clients, some higher-end clients as well, just an ability to make people feel comfortable.
“I did that for a couple of years and moved into a flat on London Road with a friend. I remember the letting agent showing us around the property and it occurred to me that the job the agent was doing was very similar to the work I was doing at the hotel, managing the restaurant.
“I also noted that the letting agent’s hours were much more friendly and there was probably more room for career progression.”
Looking after people for two hours, then two days – and now two years
Gregor went from sitting people down for dinner for two hours, to working as a duty manager at a hotel and therefore looking after guests for a couple of days, to working at Clan Gordon, where a typical tenancy lasts two years.
He added: “Whether you’re sitting someone down for dinner, checking them into their hotel rooms or looking after their home, it’s all essentially about providing a service, constantly trying to improve people’s experience.”
And how exactly does he do that in his current role?
Gregor explained: “In property management, we maintain relationships between tenants and landlords. We do site visits, so if there are leaks or damp problems, I tend to spend a bit more time working on them, while (Clan Gordon Property Manager) George Arnott is conducting routine inspections, check-ins and check-outs for clients.
“I tend to visit properties if there’s more issues present and more challenges faced. I spend a lot of time communicating, responding to emails and then just working with George to make sure the portfolio is sturdy.”
The job is a 50/50 split between dealing with tenants and dealing with landlords
If there is a water leak or a boiler isn’t working properly, what does Gregor do to sort the situation out?
He said: “Initially you sort out the immediate problem. So if it was a leak, we’d stop the flow of water, work out the source and establish whether we need to communicate with a neighbour.
“Quite often the issue can be from a neighbouring property that we might have limited control over. So it’s about working out who can we contact to get things resolved. The problem with water is that it’s often a lot worse than it looks because you can have problems within walls, floors and occasionally subsidence problems.
“Our priority is the tenant’s safety and keeping the landlord informed and up to date.”
With unforeseen problems come unforeseen costs and Gregor and his team work hard to keep landlords in the picture on insurance claims.
He said: “A lot depends on the policy, the excess, the premium, that sort of thing. We can’t make large decisions about whether to claim on behalf of landlords so tenants can find themselves frustrated at the slow pace everything moves at.
“We try our very best to acknowledge and support where we can and then ensure landlords are kept updated and they’re making the right decisions.”
Leaks are just the tip of a very big iceberg
Clan Gordon’s portfolio of more than 700 properties means Gregor’s job goes a lot further than just routine inspections.
He said: “As an example, I’ve got a boiler issue today that I’ve been dealing with all week. There’s lots of general admin involved in managing a portfolio that size.
“We spend a lot of time managing end of tenancy checkouts that can be difficult to work through, depending on the level of work required when the property is returned to us.
“That’s particularly true if a tenant’s been in there for a longer period of time, it can require a little bit more management, allocation of funds and communication than, say, if someone’s lived in a one-bed for a year.
“We also offer guidance and legislation for landlords in terms of breaches of tenancy. We recently dealt with a tenant who was subletting and we’ve tried to help them through that, unfortunately there was repairs required, damages and rent arrears.
“We do our best to encourage those repairs and advise the landlord’s responsibilities and rights, they are quite limited in what they can and can’t do so there’s often conversations around ‘problem properties’ to be had.”
Gregor’s current position is the result of recent changes at Clan Gordon
The property portfolio was originally split into three and is now split down the middle – Gregor and George manage one half, Senior Property Manager Anna Furdal and Property Manager Matthew Welfare look after the other half.
Gregor said: “We’re still trying to find our feet, trying to find a good rhythm and ways of working. There are different challenges with managing two diaries and a larger quantity of properties but I think we are making really good headway.
“From a personal perspective, I’ve worked in property for four years now and I’ve wanted to better my ability and further my career. This is a great next step for me.”
And how about the lettings market in Edinburgh? It has a reputation for buoyancy, especially over the past few years.
Gregor added: “Yes, we’re seeing a lot more student accommodation appear and there’s a lot of build-to-rent development. We’ve had companies up from London and Birmingham using investment from a fund as opposed to an individual or a business.
“The buoyancy in the market is definitely still there. And of course, where there is demand, the supply and the stock tends to increase in price and also improve.
“So I think it’s really important from a property management perspective that we align the quality of the portfolio with the cost of the rent.
“On the one hand the demand is there and landlords are able to increase rents to match it. On the other, people expect the stock to be of the highest quality and Clan Gordon has a good reputation for ensuring that.
“Edinburgh sells itself. We’ve got the universities, there’s green space everywhere, Georgian architecture, friendly neighbours, quiet streets and it’s a safe place to live.
‘I think Edinburgh is my favourite city in the world’
“I’ve visited a lot of places and this is my favourite. It’s not a bias. When you’re getting the bus along Princes Street to go and meet a friend, you look to your left and you can’t help thinking this is an incredible place.”
Also incredible is the bond between staff members at Clan Gordon, who all pull together to ensure the firm’s success.
Gregor said: “It’s a classic cliché but it’s true – if you’re happy and your team is happy, that is going to rub off on your clients and the people you work with.
“For an agency, we’re all separated into the lettings team or the property management team but people take the responsibility where they need to. There’s always communication between the departments that works really well. We have good social time together, probably more frequently than other companies.
“I need to be able to communicate exactly how I feel on something to allow me to excel and be my best self. And that’s exactly what we have, I can talk to George and Anna, we’re all on the same page. Mike (Brogan, Head of Property Management) has probably had the biggest impact in terms of allowing me to excel, really focusing on my strengths.
“Good ideas are expanded on here and I think that improves the happiness of the team as a whole.
“That team is second to none by the way. The communication, the chemistry we have – it all derives from the values we collectively hold.”
What qualities do you need to succeed in the lettings sector?
Gregor said: “I learned how to cope with pressure in the hospitality industry and that’s definitely helped me in this job.
“There could be a major issue at a property, you’ve been trying to work through it, you may have a very unhappy tenant or landlord. It’s important to maintain a composure and make sure you are speaking plainly and allowing them to understand exactly what’s going on.
“Timekeeping is very important, managing a diary, working to deadlines. A couple of extra days on a property’s void period has a big financial impact on a client.
“But the ability to communicate clearly has got to be the number one quality needed here. All through the day, it doesn’t matter who you’re talking to, you’re working through problems, you’re bringing in new ideas, you’re discussing things with tenants.
“That tenant conversation could be about the state of the rental market or it could be what’s happening in the football. If your relationship with them is good, that’s exactly what you want.”
If Gregor was God for the day…
What would he change about the way the lettings system works?
He said: “Edinburgh is such a popular city to rent in, the one thing I would change legislation-wise would be improved rent controls.
“There’s such a divide between different types of clients. You might have someone that’s inherited a property and there’s no outgoings on that flat. They may be a cash buyer with a lump sum to spend, the rent level is less important to them.
“On the other side of the scale, you’ve got landlords paying out more mortgage than taking income.
“My idea would be to mirror rents up with mortgage costs and outgoings for the landlord and implementing rent officers at the council for those properties that are just simply cash cows.
“There’s been a lot of talk about it and it’s a tough one to push through in government but I think it would have a real impact, particularly in Edinburgh because the rents are so high here.
“A one-bedroom property is on average £975 a month and that’s gone up over the last year from £925, so it’s quite exponential at the moment.
“The other thing I’d clamp down on is the quality of new properties. Some of the newer developments, we’re finding a lot of issues there in terms of exterior maintenance and roof problems.
“It sometimes feels like these buildings are unfinished at the point of sale. I think clamping down on that as well is important. If you’re going to build new houses, do it well.”
What sets Clan Gordon apart from its competitors?
Gregor says there’s no substitute for staff training.
He said: “Most of the team are qualified through Arla. So we are qualified letting agents.
“I don’t think that can be emphasised enough, particularly when you’re debating with a tenant about a deposit return or trying to talk a landlord around to meet the Repairing Standard.
“We’re qualified individuals. We have experience. We know what we’re talking about. It’s not very common for most of the team to have that qualification.
“It keeps everyone in the office on the same wavelength. People aren’t having to learn about something for 15 minutes before they can talk about it. The chemistry is spot on.
“Very rarely, if ever, do we have hiccups that aren’t personally rectified on our end. We are one team and everything moves in the way the Gordons have crafted over a number of years to work in the best way possible.
“I’ve got friends in other agencies and I’ve worked for another agency in the past and I think what’s going on here allows every person to excel in what they’re focused on.”
Lastly, what does Gregor do when he’s not solving problems for tenants?
“I’ve played cricket for 15 years. I just had a break this summer actually because I wanted to get a bit of my life back – every summer Saturday is sacrificed to cricket and it has been that way since I was 14 years old.
“Spending time making pictures is important to me as well, trying to cling on to the qualification I have from Dundee is something I battle with regularly, particularly if I’ve had a busy day and I come home and the last thing I want to do is use my brain.
“I recently ran the Prague Marathon so I’m trying to run a marathon a year at the moment. It’s a great way to see a city – although not Edinburgh though because the run just leaves the city and then you spend all your time looking at the Forth!”