About Arcadia — Premium Property Management

Our Story

Founded out of frustration. Built on trust.

Arcadia was founded in 2007 by James Hartley and Caroline Meredith, following years in which both had worked within larger estate agency and property management firms and found, repeatedly, that the clients who needed the most attentive service were the ones least well served by the industry.

The international property owner — someone who bought a manor house in Wiltshire, or inherited an estate in Argyll, and now lives in Zurich or Hong Kong — existed in a category that most firms addressed theoretically and delivered on poorly. They were given a property manager in name; in practice they were given a point of contact who administered rather than managed, who reacted rather than anticipated, and who escalated decisions upwards or outwards rather than making them.

James and Caroline set out to build something that operated from an entirely different premise: that managing an exceptional property for an absent owner required the judgement, knowledge, and commitment of someone who treated that property as their own responsibility — not as a line item in a portfolio.

Eighteen years later, Arcadia manages a small, carefully chosen portfolio of properties across the British Isles. We have never advertised for new clients. Every relationship has come through direct referral. We intend to keep it that way.

Our Approach

Proactive. Personal. Precise.

To understand how Arcadia works, it helps to understand what a year in one of our client relationships actually looks like.

In January, we send you your annual maintenance forecast — a twelve-month plan of scheduled works, servicing appointments, and any capital investment we recommend, with cost estimates for each. You can approve it in a single email. In February, we carry out the boiler service you approved and note that the kitchen tap washers need replacing. We replace them and mention it in your monthly report. In May, we arrange the garden's seasonal preparation — briefing the landscaper on the programme, attending on the first day, and inspecting the result.

In July, you call to say you're arriving in four days with the family. We begin the pre-arrival preparation immediately: full clean, linen dressed, flowers arranged, groceries ordered to your specifications, pool checked and temperature set. Your children's preferred breakfast cereals are in the pantry. The wi-fi password is on the kitchen table. When you arrive, the house is ready.

In October, a storm brings down a section of garden wall. You learn about it by email at 9am, with a photograph, a proposed contractor, and a repair cost estimate. You reply to approve the spend. We handle the rest. You never think about it again. In December, you receive your annual report — a full account of the year's maintenance activity, expenditure, and the condition of your property — alongside our plan for the year ahead. This is how Arcadia works. Quietly. Thoroughly. Without fuss.

The Team

The people who care for your property.

Our team is small by design. Every person who works for Arcadia is directly responsible for properties they know intimately and clients they have met personally.

James Hartley

Founder & Managing Director

James began his career with a regional estate agency in the Scottish Borders, where he developed an early understanding of the specific demands of rural and heritage property. He co-founded Arcadia in 2007 after fifteen years in the industry convinced him that international property owners were being consistently underserved. He oversees client relationships personally and remains the point of contact for every new enquiry.

Caroline Meredith

Co-Founder & Director of Operations

Caroline spent a decade managing a portfolio of significant private estates for a family office before co-founding Arcadia. Her background in financial management, project delivery, and client communication informs the operational discipline that defines the Arcadia service. She oversees the reporting framework, the financial management function, and the quality of every property inspection carried out in the company's name.

Robert Fenn

Head of Property & Maintenance

Robert trained as a building surveyor before moving into property management. He holds a RICS qualification with a specialism in conservation and heritage buildings, and has been responsible for the technical integrity of the Arcadia portfolio for nine years. He manages our contractor network, leads all renovation and refurbishment projects, and conducts a significant proportion of the property inspections personally. Robert is the person our clients are most likely to hear about when something goes wrong — because he has already fixed it.

Sophia Aldrich

Client Relations & Concierge Manager

Sophia joined Arcadia from a career in luxury hospitality — most recently as head of guest experience for a group of private-hire estates. She manages the pre-arrival concierge service, coordinates domestic staff appointments, and maintains the detailed preference records that allow us to personalise every client's experience of their property. Sophia's standard is simple: every arrival should feel like the first time you walked into a home that was already perfectly yours.

Our Network

The people behind the people.

One of the most valuable things a client receives when they appoint Arcadia is access to a network of specialists, tradespeople, and professionals that has been built over eighteen years — and that cannot be replicated quickly.

We work with the same core contractors across almost all of our properties. This is deliberate. Our plumber knows what standard of work is expected of him. Our master craftsman understands what Grade I listed means in practice and how to work within those constraints. Our cleaning team understands what an Arcadia-standard pre-arrival preparation looks like. They do not need to be briefed from scratch each time, and they do not cut corners because they know we will notice.

Beyond maintenance, our network extends to architects, structural engineers, heritage consultants, planning specialists, interior designers, lawyers, insurers, and landscape architects — each chosen for the quality of their work and their understanding of what our clients' properties represent. When we need a specialist, we do not search the internet. We make a call to someone we trust.

We also maintain strong relationships with local authorities, conservation offices, and statutory consultees across the regions where our properties are located. These relationships — built over many years of consistent, professional engagement — have a material effect on the speed and outcome of planning and heritage applications, and on the goodwill that surrounds the properties we manage within their local communities.

Arcadia's network of trusted specialists

Built on a single principle: treat every property as your own.