Following two weeks' of extensive consultation and feedback with a number of key clients, we have decided that the Visium Group, as of now, will separate into two distinctive lines of business.

Before I outline these changes, I'd like to thank those who have helped with the feedback.

After an especially challenging market in 2008 and with no signs of a let up in 2009, it is 100% clear that we need to be fully aligned with our clients. That is why we have made the following changes.

Property Secrets

Property Secrets becomes purely a research and analysis consultancy. Investment sourcing will move to i-PropertyAssets. Property Secrets will only make revenue from subscriptions to PRO content, advertising and bespoke consultancy.

In previous years we believe that we have done a pretty good job in treading the difficult line between research and investment sourcing. But we have now decided that Property Secrets will focus only on research and analysis, so we can advise our clients objectively with clear transparency.

Property Secrets will be able to tell clients whether to invest or not, or how to reshape their existing portfolio with the help of independent expertise, based on personal portfolio objectives and current circumstances. Our proprietary Intrinsic Property Value (IPV) research will be at the heart of all personalised analysis, which will be charged per hour or per service.

Broadly speaking, there are 3 levels of advice and analysis

1. PRO content on the Property Secrets website (subscription as currently).
2. Bespoke consultancy services - Investment surveys (pre-purchase investment reports based on one or more properties) and Portfolio reviews (detailing the strengths and weaknesses of a current portfolio).
   These services will use our Intrinsic Property Value analysis and will give clear recommendations to ensure you make the best, logical and analytical investment decisions in dysfunctional and complex property markets.
   
   Our investment surveys will tell you if we believe an investment is a sound long- term one or not, and we will advise you if we think further negotiation is necessary; or, indeed, what is the best long-term investment from a range of options - the best may not be the cheapest or the one with the biggest discount.
3. PS Premier - We have reshaped this service to be research and IPV-led, supporting our investors who want an ongoing tailored relationship with a personal investment advisor, available on a daily/weekly basis. You can read more here. Brief highlights of this service are: quarterly portfolio reviews, on-hand daily advice when required, 6 Investment Surveys per year, access to all levels of our IPV research and our IPV newsletter, plus we can offer tax and finance information and direct you to appropriate professional advice. These services will all be via a dedicated account manager who will feed all requests to the team of analysts and arrange conference or one-to-one calls as required .

In summary, we are now able to offer clients different tailored options - either bespoke analysis, like a portfolio review or an Investment Survey, or our full PS Premier service. Learn more about any of these options by calling Martin Grainger on 01270 539576 or email him on martin.grainger@propertysecrets.net

i-PropertyAssets

Our property sourcing team, including Investment Director Steve Desmond, now moves to i-PropertyAssets This will provide two core benefits:

1. Continuity between property sourcing and management with much greater property expertise in the team, plus direct client contact with the people who sourced and visited a development and therefore know it and the local market better than anyone.
2. The creation of one team with outstanding property experience - and no disconnect between Property Secrets and i-PropertyAssets in terms of sourcing, handover and after-sale services.

I'd add that I see much less, if any, push investment sourcing from i-PropertyAssets in 2009 - by which I mean us finding a good deal and then emailing our clients.

We will instead move to a much more tailored and consultative approach, where we take a brief from our clients - for the UK or Europe - and go out and deliver the best properties to match that brief. Like a recruitment head-hunter, we will ask for a 1/3rd of the fee upfront, 1/3rd on delivery of the brief and the final 1/3rd on property transaction (please note that PS Premier clients do not need to pay 1/3rd upfront)

To discuss your property sourcing objectives for either the UK or Europe, please contact Steve Desmond on 01270 539550.

Property for resale from investors or developers who want a quick sale at a discounted price will continue to sit within i-PropertyAssets.

Please email us by clicking here if you are interested in purchasing or leave your details here if you are interested in selling your investment property.

So the i-PropertyAssets services are:

• Investment sourcing
• Completion Services
• Property Management
• Property Letting
• Re-sales
• Finance support

Please do call Oliver Watts for information on any of the above services on 01270 539550 or email oliver.watts@i-propertyassets.com

All the best for 2009.

Neil Lewis
CEO
Visium Group