London block management firm will use MRI Agora Orchestrator to automate high-frequency, repetitive tasks
Press Release LONDON – October 2026 – MRI Software, a global leader in real estate software solutions and services, today announced that JAR (James Andrew Residential), a leading London block management firm supporting more than 6,500 homes, has selected MRI Agora Orchestrator, an agentic workflow orchestration solution, to automate routine operational tasks and support a more responsive service for residents and clients.
As part of MRI Agora™, MRI’s AI-powered real estate platform, Agora Orchestrator enables real estate organisations to deploy agentic workflows – sequences of steps carried out by a combination of AI agents – that understand the context behind individual situations and complete defined tasks within agreed business rules and guardrails. Human oversight remains in place wherever judgement, sensitivity or accountability is required.
To support its wider investment to modernise its operating platform, JAR will use MRI Agora Orchestrator alongside its existing MRI residential solutions to support selected high-volume, time-intensive processes across its operations. The aim is to automate repetitive tasks and help routine work progress more efficiently, giving JAR’s teams more time to focus on residents, clients and situations that benefit from their experience and personal involvement.
The current project will focus on three agentic workflows:
Accounting Process Optimisation: Supports routine financial administration tasks and produces appropriately tailored external communications based on the information held for each case. JAR colleagues will remain responsible for sensitive, complex, or exceptional circumstances where personal engagement and judgement are essential.
Maintenance response triage: Interprets and contextualises unstructured inbound requests and helps route them to the appropriate next step, reducing manual handling and enabling property teams to progress maintenance issues more efficiently.
Document and data processing: Extracts key information from documents and communications to enrich JAR’s core system of record, while maintaining human review for critical compliance documentation and decisions.
The initial workflows are expected to deliver meaningful operational efficiencies and support JAR’s broader objective of using AI carefully and practically to improve service delivery. Based on JAR’s preliminary assessment of the selected use cases, the project has the potential to generate a return on investment of approximately 250%.
“Used in the right way, AI can take repetitive administration away from our teams and give them more time to focus on residents, clients and the situations where their experience and judgement really matter,” said Ben Martin, Director at JAR. “We have worked with MRI to identify practical areas where the technology can support faster, more consistent service, while keeping appropriate human oversight in place.”
JAR’s adoption of MRI Agora Orchestrator reflects a broader shift in how real estate organisations are approaching AI: moving beyond experimentation and standalone tools towards technology embedded directly into the systems, data and workflows that support day-to-day service. MRI worked with JAR to identify and validate suitable workflows, drawing on its understanding of residential property operations.
Andrew Stanton CEO Proptech-PR
Carter Hones Associates expands into Europe and appoints new director
Founded in Dubai in 2010, Carter Hones Associates is a project consultancy that provides design, cost and project management services. The business has grown to more than 60 professionals and has delivered over 500 projects across the UAE and Saudi Arabia, including major hospitality, leisure, residential, mixed-use and master planning developments.
Expanding into Europe marks the next stage in Carter Hones Associates’ growth, with the appointment of Sale, based out of London, giving the firm a permanent presence in the market.
Carter Hones Associates will take its experience and expertise developed across complex, large-scale projects in the Middle East into the UK and Europe. The move will enable the company to work more closely with European architects, developers and other partners, while providing existing international clients with greater on-the-ground support.
A registered architect, Sale was previously Associate Director at Plan A Consultants, where she led the master planning sector and P6 Primavera programming, and oversaw the Cape Town office.
Sale’s career has included leading design management on complex international projects for world-renowned architects. Managing large multi-disciplinary teams, her experience covers a range of sectors including cultural, aviation, master planning future cities, hospitality and sports. She has also lectured on design management at the University of Cambridge and is a RIBA Part III Professional Studies advisor for the next generation of architects.
Craig Carter, CEO and Founder of Carter Hones Associates, said: “Expanding into Europe is a natural next step for Carter Hones Associates. Over the past 16 years, we’ve built a business around delivering complex projects with a very hands-on, senior-led approach, and we see a real opportunity to bring that experience to clients in Europe.
“This expansion would only be possible with the right person to lead it, and Jennifer is the perfect fit. She brings an exceptional combination of design management knowledge and architectural understanding from her international project experience, along with entrepreneurial spirit. We’re delighted to have Jennifer drive this next phase of our growth.”
Jennifer Sale, Director at Carter Hones Associates, added: “Carter Hones Associates has an excellent reputation through its work on ambitious and complex projects, particularly across the Middle East. There is a huge amount of knowledge and experience within the business that will translate extremely well into the UK, Europe and beyond.
“The key to our expansion is combining that international experience with genuine local knowledge and relationships. I’m really excited to establish Carter Hones Associates’ presence in Europe, working closely with architects, developers and partners while ensuring the same emphasis on quality, collaboration and delivery that has driven the business’s success to date.”
Andrew Stanton CEO Proptech-PR
Orka Investments grows PBSA portfolio to more than 2,000 units
The scheme is 100% occupied for the 2026/27 academic year and takes the joint venture’s portfolio to 1,512 beds across four cities, adding Exeter to Birmingham, Glasgow and Aberdeen.
The acquisition takes Orka’s wider UK student housing platform, including assets held outside the joint venture, to 2,080 beds across six schemes.
Investec Real Estate has provided the acquisition financing.
Orka Investments, the London-based real estate investment manager, has completed the acquisition of Hill View Place, a 226-bed purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) scheme in Exeter, through its joint venture with a global institutional real estate investor.
Hill View Place is adjacent to the University of Exeter’s Streatham Campus and a short bus ride from the city centre. Opened in 2022, the scheme offers a mix of en-suite rooms, studios, townhouses and penthouse apartments, alongside a gym, cinema lounge, games room, communal lounge and outdoor space. It is fully let for the 2026/27 academic year and boasts a strong historical occupancy.
The University of Exeter is a member of the Russell Group and, according to UCAS data for the 2025 admissions cycle, recorded a 15.5% rise in applicants, the largest increase of any Russell Group university. Demand for the most selective universities continues to strengthen nationally. UCAS data for the 2026 cycle show applicants to higher tariff institutions rose 6.9% by the January deadline, well ahead of growth at medium and lower tariff providers.
The acquisition was part funded with an acquisition loan from Investec Real Estate, with whom Orka has a long-standing relationship. The facility includes an accordion structure, which will support its growth ambitions.
Orka’s joint venture launched in December 2025 with three acquisitions totalling c.1,300 beds in Birmingham, Glasgow and Aberdeen, with over 80% of beds catering to Russell Group university locations. Hill View Place is the joint venture’s first acquisition since this launch, taking the JV portfolio to 1,512 beds and adding a third Russell Group city alongside Birmingham and Glasgow.
Andrew Stanton CEO Proptech-PR
