Quicklets and Zanzi Homes (QLZH) celebrated the official launch of its foundation, together with yet another office opening. The prop-tech group inaugurated its new head office at 157A, Tower Road, Sliema.
Steve Mercieca, the group’s CEO and co-founder, explains that “this next step is important to us, as it puts both Quicklets and Zanzi Homes as a main player in the real estate industry. The head office move from Ibraġ to Sliema’s front makes us more visible and more accessible to clients. We’re also keeping the Ibraġ office, as a new investor showed interest in taking over one of our first branches, which we’ll soon be celebrating its opening too”.
“We’ve decided, once again, to keep an industrial and raw look. This brings out the beauty in utility but also creates a lively contrast between the building interior and the furniture. The exposed concrete portrays a genuine and awesome culture, serving as a reminder to our staff about our roots and values. It also reflects our accomplished transparency in our dealings and complements our image, as we allow our team to dress down, while maintaining a formal and professional attire. Moreover, the Edison bulbs connote our professionalism and dedication,” he added.
“We’ve also used the lift shaft to put up a moss wall and covered much of the office with plants as we really want to bring our clients and estate specialists closer to nature and to feel more welcome when coming in. It’s not only about just providing a job, but also providing a vibrant and engaging workplace which can bring out the best in our estate specialists. If we want our employees to give their 100 per cent, we should provide them with a workplace which brings out the best in them. Clients too should feel more invited, as the vivacity created by the greenness and the natural light come into play for client walk-ins. So far, it’s been successful, so much so that random people have been coming in just to tell us how good it looks.”
Mark Sant Cassia, branch manager at Quicklets’ head office, says the move “further shows how the company has grown over the past two years. From a team of around 25 people to nearly 250 people, the move comes at the right time. We certainly feel that the new office will really put us on the map as Malta’s leading letting agency and help us to keep the values we have always gone by.
“We used to go by the ‘Dream, Believe, Achieve’ mantra; however, we have since taken up ‘Quick, Awesome, Genuine’ as a more applicable slogan due to our growth”.
The head office will also be incorporating Zanzi Homes, thus offering both letting and sales services.
The energy we pump into this part of our business is what has kept us so alive and bright
The group formally introduced their QLZH Foundation, under the patronage of President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, who attended the event and delivered an encouraging speech to those who attended, mainly property specialists and guests. The President addressed the need to tackle poverty and help create opportunities for the youth, mainly by investing sustainably locally and in foreign economies.
Foundation chairman Mr Mercieca spoke of its actions through the real estate agency’s funding: “We’ve achieved many of our goals for 2017; now our vision widens for 2018, as we aim to accomplish even more philanthropic goals locally and abroad. We dream of a better world and we’ve set out on a number of projects to give back to the community.”
The group of companies has been effectual in its philanthropic activities since its inception five years ago. It has conducted a number of benevolent and humanitarian projects. Last Christmas, the group gave out numerous presents to children hospitalised at Mater Dei, and granted many requests under their ‘Make a Zanzi Wish’ project.
Their #Treedom campaign resulted in trees planted in green zones and the group has adopted a recycling culture through the welcome packs it gives to its letting clients and by actively collecting recycling materials in its branches. The group also takes part in clean-up events and has also raised money for cancer patients and confined people.
The QLZH Foundation also travelled to Ghana to provide internet connection to a community and a whole new library of textbooks to a school. The internet installation will help promote ICT lectures, as well as extending an internet hotspot for the local community. This is a stepping stone to achieving the foundation’s main aim: to provide a home to people who are displaced for each home it sells in Malta.
Mr Mercieca said: “As of now, we’re planning a 10-year project to plant one million trees around the Maltese islands to drastically expand our #Treedom campaign and provide more green zones. Our national initiatives which proved successful last year will inevitably also be on the table, as we aim to contribute even more to the local community.
“On an international level, we want to invest sustainably in Africa and start a process whereby a child’s education could be sponsored for each property we rent at Quicklets. Furthermore, we aspire to build a school ourselves there and bolster educating facilities to strengthen the youths’ academic and professional opportunities.
“From day one our vision had three purposes: the first was to focus on a comfortable working environment with like-minded people; the second was to create a technologically advanced and ultra-automated platform to gather data to study the market and create a technology that sped up the role of an estate agent. The third and closest to my heart is the philanthropic work we can achieve through our efforts. The energy we pump into this part of our business is what has kept us so alive and bright.”