IF ever a business was personified by its founder, it would be Prime Lettings and Management (PLM).

Young, vibrant and successful are all descriptions which have been applied both to the St Andrew's Court-based property specialist, and to its founder, Marilena Manfredi, who scooped the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year award at last month's prestigious North Manchester Business Awards.

The former Mount St Joseph's Convent School pupil was praised by the judges for driving PLM through spectacular growth - while remaining a devoted family woman, and applying "the personal touch" to her business dealings.

Marilena said: "Most high street estate agents are in the business of selling; they do lettings as a sideline. No disrespect, but there is more involved in letting properties than selling them. Once a tenant is in place, you still have to manage the property on behalf of the client.

"It is the minutiae of property management that makes the difference. There are countless legislative changes every year that encompass areas such as gas checks, internal plaster walls and glass-topped tables, to name but a few."

She started the business five years ago after spending five years with a high street estate agent, balancing the needs of her young family with working six days a week to develop the company.

By the end of her first trading year, PLM already had 100 properties under management. The success story continued, and last year the company - which now employs four staff - had more than 350 managed properties. Of these, 85 per cent are in Bolton, with the remainder across Manchester, Bury and Wigan.

Company turnover has risen from around £40,000 in the first year to more than £250,000 last year, driven by big-name clients like Georgia Pacific, Ingersoll-Rand and Indespension.

"It's been down to hard work and perseverance," said Marilena. "All the clients have my mobile number, so they know they can ring me at any time if there's a problem."

Sometimes, it is only multi-lingual Marilena who can help.

As a speaker of Italian, French and Spanish, she has been constantly on call for another of PLM's clients - Bolton Wanderers.

"We've housed virtually all their players in recent years," she says. "Obviously, when English is not their first language and they're in a new place for the first time, it helps when their new surroundings can be explained to them in their own language.

"Some have stayed as tenants, while others have now bought properties. But that initial period of acclimatisation was crucial."

Marilena's ability to help is not confined to Wanderers' Premiership push, either. She was approached last month by the manager of St Andrew's Court to act as a business "mentor" to some of the other smaller outfits in the complex.

"I think it was down to my personality again," she said. "I was happy to agree to help, and there have been a couple of consultations.

"This place is starting to buzz again now, though. Virtually all the units are let. It's starting to get some vibrancy about it again."

Further expansion was always on the cards, but Marilena hinted that now could be the time.

She said: "There are so many properties in and around Manchester, that's where we'll look next. We already have some apartments in the Hacienda development, but I'm fairly positive we'll be looking for more."