Alan Draper
Alan began his career in IT, working with major companies like Sophos and Sony, before bringing that expertise into the property world. In 2008, he founded Common Ground with a mission to inject service excellence and strong IT infrastructure into an industry that had long resisted both.
Since then, Alan has grown the business into a respected, forward-thinking managing agent. In January 2023, he was made a Fellow of the Institute of Residential Property Management—recognition of both his experience and his contributions to the industry. He actively champions leasehold reform and regularly attends meetings of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Leasehold and Commonhold Reform.
Alan lives in Oxfordshire with his wife and three children. When he’s not immersed in leasehold legislation or tech upgrades, he’s either coaching, playing, or supporting his beloved Stoke City. He also enjoys swimming, skiing, and working out (likely while still thinking about leasehold reform).
Meet the rest of the team
“Having experienced a block managing agent that seemed to have no control over spending, it’s refreshing to work with a managing agent that is 100% transparent. Their portal system enables tracking of maintenance tasks, and their use of the Xero accounts system means that directors can keep track of all expenditure. Highly recommended.
I very highly recommend Common Ground. Their conscientious team is highly professional, experienced and efficient, which is extremely reassuring to Directors and responsible owners of properties. They are pro-active, helping to plan ahead and to anticipate problems, which they can deal with firmly but sensitively. They are a pleasure to work with.
We moved to Common Ground from one of the large national agents. The list of maintenance items that required attention was growing longer and longer as we were moved from one property manager to the next. Common Ground stood out from the day the MD came to assess the site and fixed two of the outstanding maintenance items during that visit.
Common Ground worked through the maintenance items which we were able to track through their portal system. It’s also been a pleasure to have the same property manager and accountant throughout. The continuity is important, so it is good to work with an agent that retains its staff.
Our relatively small development was rescued by Common Ground after a disastrous initial situation caused by the inefficiency of the managing agents appointed by the developer. After examining the situation Common Ground came up with a first rate transparent management system which gave directors full and instant access to accounts and other matters, such as legal advice and rights of leaseholders. They make managing easy for directors and attend to everyday problems promptly.